Christian Pulisic has missed more than two months of action for English Premier League-leading Chelsea, but the American star has taken a step toward a potential return for both club and country.

Pulisic returned to training with Chelsea on Thursday ahead of this weekend’s league showdown with Newcastle United. The U.S. men’s national team winger suffered an ankle injury during September’s World Cup Qualifying win against Honduras, which has forced him to miss 11 matches across all competitions for Chelsea, as well as the USMNT’s three October qualifiers.

HELLO BEAUTIFUL pic.twitter.com/8RP5wLBT2z

— Chelsea FC USA (@ChelseaFCinUSA) October 28, 2021

The 23-year-old scored his only league goal for Chelsea in a 3-0 win over Crystal Palace on August 14. Since then, Pulisic has been forced to miss three UEFA Champions League matches.

Pulisic’s return for Chelsea would come at a needed time as forwards Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner are both nursing their own injuries. The club faces Newcastle on Saturday before matches against Malmo and Burnley close out the current schedule ahead of November’s international break.

Pulisic would also bring a needed boost to Gregg Berhalter’s squad, which faces Mexico and Jamaica in a pair of qualifiers on November 12 and 16 respectively. The Americans sit in second place in the Concacaf qualifying standings, but will face their toughest test yet against rivals El Tri in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The USMNT secured six points from October’s qualifiers despite missing both Pulisic and Gio Reyna, who has also been sidelined since September with an injury suffered during World Cup qualifying. Reyna has yet to make his return to Borussia Dortmund, and with November’s World Cup qualifiers just two weeks away, the teenager is looking less and less likely to be available.

Chelsea is currently in first place in the Premier League with 22 points through nine matches, one point ahead of Liverpool and two points clear of defending champion Manchester City.