Christian Eriksen played an hour and bagged an assist in a closed-doors friendly for Brentford against Southend on Monday, as the Denmark star moved up a gear in pursuit of his Premier League comeback.
The former Tottenham and Inter playmaker looks poised to make his competitive Bees debut before the end of February, as he continues to plot a remarkable return to action following his arrival at Brentford Community Stadium.
The 30-year-old, who celebrated his birthday alongside his first minutes for Thomas Frank's side, had not played since suffering a cardiac arrest at Euro 2020 last summer, but nevertheless turned in a performance that suggested he has not lost his touch in the interim.
How did Eriksen's game go?
In the first of what will be at least two warm-up games for the midfielder, Eriksen started for a Brentford XI against the Shrimpers, as the hosts ran out 3-2 winners against their lower-league opposition.
The Dane went close to opening the scoring in the early exchanges, before setting up Josh Dasilva for what would be the first of an eventual hat-trick for the latter on his own return from injury.
Eriksen was removed on the hour mark, to be replaced by Lewis Gordon, in a pre-planned tactical change, to come through the latest step of his comeback unscathed.
When could Eriksen make his debut?
With one warm-up game down, Eriksen could theoretically make his debut as early as this weekend, against Arsenal as Brentford look to inflict a surprise result upon the north London outfit.
He would likely only feature from the bench for a cameo if he did, however, marking out the Bees' subsequent clash with Newcastle as a more likely debut opportunity for the playmaker.
Regardless of which match he ultimately returns in, his mere presence will prove a remarkable achievement for the player, after his career looked to be over in the midst of Euro 2020 last term.