The Roma midfielder is on track to recover from his troublesome knee problems by October following an operation in January

Injury-plagued midfielder Kevin Strootman says he is constantly improving en route to a Roma comeback in October.

The Netherlands international, 25, made only seven appearances in 2014-15 in a short period sandwiched between two serious, long-term knee injuries.

Reports surfaced on Friday that he had suffered a setback to his recovery from January's keyhole surgery on his left knee, but Goal understands Roma's plan for a return by October remains on track.

Strootman - who ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in 2014 to miss the World Cup - accompanied Rudi Garcia's squad on their pre-season tour of Australia and believes he is well on the road to a full recovery.

"I’m getting better and better," Strootman said Roma's official website and his personal Twitter account. "I still need to train hard to get back in the team.

"I’ve had some problems but as you know, I had an operation and it went very well. Now I’m training all the time to return to action - that’s the most important thing.

"After a good week of training in Pinzolo, my team-mates and I are now in Australia working hard to prepare for the upcoming season.

"Everything is going according to the detailed plan we have mapped out with all the doctors and physiotherapists months ago. I feel strong and I am getting stronger every day.

"Speculations in Italian media about a setback are entirely not true. So please only follow the official reports on my official social pages and forget about all the ridiculous rumours."