Roberto Mancini says Carlos Tevez could be on the bench for Manchester City's Premier League game against Chelsea on Wednesday night.
The Argentine will not be ready for 90 minutes until he has had "three or four" substitute appearances, according to Mancini.
And the first of those could come in front of the Sky Sports cameras as City aim to get back to within a point of Manchester United at the top.
Mancini said: "He is getting better but I don't think Carlo can have more than 25-30 minutes.
"A player like Carlo needs to play but for 90 minutes it is impossible. But if he can play 30 minutes, after 45, then in three or four games he could have 90 minutes, easily.
"On Wednesday we will decide. We want to know the situation with the players."
Tevez has been building up his fitness over the past couple of weeks after coming back to England and drawing a line under his long-running row with the club.
It had looked like the Argentine would never play for City again when he angered Mancini by refusing to warm up during a Champions League game at Bayern Munich.
However, the Italian has accepted an apology from Tevez and he is now closing in on a return to the first-team fold at the Etihad.
