Luka Modric can just about see the light at the end of the tunnel. The big news for the Croat is that a date can more or less be visualised for his return to the football grounds, although it won't be next week. Or the week after.

In principle, the idea is that the sorely-missed midfielder will be back for the second leg of the Champions League qualifier against Schalke. Round about on 10th March.

Looking at it from a glass-half-empty perspective, Ancelotti will have to struggle through another month without his favourite central midfielder.

Things as they stand in 'La Casa Blanca', they will be counting the days - especially as initially it was hoped that at this point in the season the player would be back in the squad.

Looking at it as a glass half full, at last there is a date set for when Modric will be reporting for duty. It's a date that may only be hesitantly whispered, however, as the idea is that when he eventually does return, he does so in a game that demands little of him - rather like what happened last season, when Real had qualification for the next stage of the Champions League in the bag going into the game in Gelsenkirchen.

If the Croat were to return in time for a tough match, he would sit it out and wait for a softer landing.

Modric is taking his recovery very calmly and is not reaching for the champagne bottle just yet. His recovery has proved arduous both mentally and physically and now that things are looking up, he's not going to rush it.