Robert Kubica's doctor says the Pole is a "few more months" away from making a return to F1 as he needs to undergo further rehabilitation.
Time is fast running out for Kubica, who was seriously injured in a rally accident in February, to book his place on the 2012 Formula One grid.
The Pole has been given a November deadline by his Lotus Renault team in order to prove he is capable of returning.
And although his doctor, Dr Riccardo Ceccarelli, reckons Kubica will be able to race next season, he admits a return is still a few months away.
"Our goal is to get him back in F1," ESPNF1 quotes Ceccarelli as having told Lucca television. "But he will still need a few more months of rehabilitation.
"The cuts were so bad that many colleagues and specialists had ruled out a return to the wheel for Robert.
"But, clinically, little by little everything has improved and the hope to see him driving as soon as 2012 is becoming more and more concrete."
