When he limped off the pitch at El Madrigal with a shoulder blow earlier this month, Atletico Madrid were already counting down the days until Jan Oblak's return from injury, and it has now emerged that the goalkeeper is targeting an early comeback in the March 15 clash against Bayer Leverkusen at the Estadio Vicente Calderon.
During a recent trip to a specialist in London, it had previously been mooted that the Slovenian would be out of action for between five and six months, much to the disappointment of all associated with the Rojiblancos.
But far from complying with those initial grim forecasts, Oblak has already set the Round of 16 tie for his return to the team.
The ambitious three-month timeframe flies in the face of previous evidence for shoulder complaints, as Petr Cech took far longer to return from a similar injury while at Chelsea.
Yet in a bizarre quirk of fate, if Oblak does indeed manage to meet his target, his comeback would occur in similar circumstances to his first Champions League start for Atletico.
It was, after all, an injury to Miguel Angel Moya against the Germans that afforded the ex-Benfica man a chance to stake his claim so impressively for regular inclusion.
And as history now shows, it was one that he seized with both hands as he has been a pillar of Simeone's side ever since.
For now, Atletico fingers are firmly crossed that the big custodian returns as soon as he intends.