Fogarty went down in pre-season after suffering meniscus damage to his left knee following a kicking drill during a warm-up.

Scans later confirmed their star recruit from the Titans, poised to turbo-charge the Raiders attack alongside Jack Wighton in 2022, would be out until round 15-17.

Now in round 10, Fogarty is already back at training, running, kicking, flexing all his halfback skills with teammates at Raiders HQ.

It all points to Fogarty finally making his Raiders debut sooner than expected, and Stuart has been impressed with what he's seen from the 28-year-old.

"I'll never look at what was expected. I look at what's the now, and he's training very well," the Canberra coach said.

"But the medical advice will be something that we'll start looking at soon in regards to what they feel will be an approximate return."

The loss of Fogarty shortly before losing veteran hooker Josh Hodgson for the year through injury was a cruel double-blow for the team so early in the season.

With the side in 12^th spot on the NRL ladder ahead of their Magic Round clash against Cronulla, and facing tough opposition over the next month, Fogarty's pending comeback would be a huge boost.

The Queenslander's focus hasn't veered despite the injury blow too.

"I communicate with Jamal every day," Stuart said. "He's been great away from the training field in meetings, in some private video work - Jamal's been wonderful.

"It's great having him back at training and we aren't rushing, but we definitely look forward to getting him back."

The coach also praised how Fogarty has assisted his replacement at No.7, 21-year-old Brad Schneider.

"I know [Jamal] has a good relationship there with Jack [Wighton] and Brad [Schneider]," Stuart said.

"Both boys have given Brad everything they possibly can in regards to his development.

"And that's what you want as a young player, hearing from your senior players around you.

"Brad came into a team where he's had not as much cohesion as normal around him. It puts a lot of pressure on him.

"But he's a very mentally-tough young player. Physically, he handles the intensity and the collision.

"I'm seeing some signs of a little bit of fatigue in him, but that happens with a young boy who's coming into grade and playing consistent 80 minutes of football per week.

"But we're looking after him during the week, doing everything we possibly can to make sure he's physically and mentally as healthy as we possibly can get him at this stage of the year."

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