Victor Oladipo played in just four games for the Miami Heat last season after he had to undergo season-ending quad surgery in May. With that, his status for the upcoming campaign remains unknown as he continues to recover from the injury.

While previous reports indicated that he could miss the whole 2021-22 season, the latest talks surrounding his recovery reveal the Heat guard could be back earlier than expected.

According to Greg Sylvander of Five Reasons Sports Network (via Larry Brown Sports), Oladipo is ahead of schedule and could return as early as Christmas if all goes well in his rehab and he doesn't suffer a setback.

“Sources close to Oladipo’s process throughout summer have maintained that he’s ahead of schedule and that there is an expectation surrounding him that he could be hooping by December. That’s a completely different timeline than I had been conceptualizing as somebody following this team. I was looking at more like the All-Star break,” Sylvander said.

“So the fact that he is advancing and looking like he is ahead of schedule and should be able to play basketball. Let’s just say Christmas. I’m throwing out an arbitrary date in December for instance. That’s so much sooner than I was counting on Oladipo.”

For what it's worth, Victor Oladipo's operating surgeon told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski back in May that the Heat veteran could be cleared by November. With that said, there is really a good possibility that Dipo suits up for the South Beach franchise by December.

Of course given his injury history, it won't be surprising if the Heat take it slow with Oladipo and let him get comfortable with game action before putting him on the court. After all, they would need him more in the playoffs rather than the regular season.

Oladipo is on a prove-it deal with the Heat, signing a one-year contract for the veteran's minimum worth roughly around $2.4 million. Given his status, it won't be surprising to see him play sooner rather than later.