Lance Stroll looks to be on course to return to Formula 1 action at the Canadian Grand Prix, but a final decision is unlikely to be made until next week as he recovers from a wrist operation.
The Aston Martin driver was forced to withdraw from last weekend's Spanish GP as the result of hand and wrist pain that is a legacy of a cycling accident he had in early 2023.
After he sought help in the medical centre following qualifying at Barcelona, doctors advised Stroll that he should not put himself through further pain in the race and instead get his problem sorted.
A subsequent procedure - the details of which have not been specified - was carried out at a Barcelona clinic by the same team that operated on him back in 2023.
This procedure was led by renowned MotoGP surgeon Dr Xavier Mir, who has extensive experience of dealing with hand and wrist injuries in motorsport.
In 2023, despite hand, wrist and leg injuries, Mir's operation helped Stroll get back in his Aston Martin car within a fortnight and race to a sixth-placed finish in the season opening Bahrain GP.
No further information has been released by Aston Martin regarding Stroll's current state of recovery, and there has been uncertainty about whether he will be fit enough to compete in Montreal.
But it is understood that the early prognosis is promising and, should there be no unexpected complications, Stroll will almost certainly be able to race in Canada.
Were Stroll not to be given the medical green light, then Aston Martin would need to call on one of its reserves - with the role shared by Stoffel Vandoorne and Felipe Drugovich.
It had been widely anticipated that Drugovich would be the most logical pick to make his F1 debut.
The Brazilian is a regular presence at F1 races, has a lot of experience in different Aston Martin F1 cars and on the simulator, and filled in for Stroll at pre-season testing in Bahrain 2023 in the wake of the initial accident.
But the situation was complicated by the fact that Drugovich is scheduled to race for Cadillac at the Le Mans 24 Hours over the Canada weekend, which meant he was not automatically free. Vandoorne, too, is racing for Peugeot in the same event.
Aston Martin's chief trackside officer Mike Krack suggested in Spain that the squad had the ability to pull across one of its reserves if necessary - which would have meant Drugovich standing down and travelling to Montreal instead.
Krack said: "We had plans in place that if we need a driver that is doing Le Mans we bring him."
But with it understood that everything is pointing towards Stroll being fit for Montreal, Drugovich now appears totally focused on Le Mans.
He has already arrived at the French circuit ahead of this Sunday's test day, and sources suggest he has indicated he is committed to staying there rather than remaining on call for Canada.
Aston Martin is not expected to make any formal confirmation about Stroll's plans for Canada until he is officially given the green light, which may not be until next week.
However, with Drugovich and Vandoorne appearing set to remain at Le Mans, were it to need a last-minute replacement in case Stroll hits trouble once back in the car, then it could still call upon Mercedes reserve Valtteri Bottas to fill in.
That is because Mercedes has deals in place with its customer teams to make Bottas available if required.
One downside to taking Bottas is that he currently has a five-place grid penalty hanging over him for his next F1 race, a legacy of a collision he had with Kevin Magnussen at last year's Abu Dhabi GP.
