Fulham midfielder Jimmy Bullard could make his long-awaited return to action before Christmas.

The former Wigan star has been out of action since last September after sustaining knee ligament damage against Newcastle.

Bullard is back in training and is pushing for a first team return before the end of the year.

Fulham physio Jason Palmer has revealed the 29-year-old could be back playing next month if all goes to plan.

“Jimmy had begun doing some work on the training pitch with the under-18s,” said Palmer.

“He will progress over the next few weeks to reserve training sessions before moving on to full training with the first team.

“Depending on how he progresses and responds, the time frame we are looking at is between four to eight weeks.”