O'Driscoll hopes to be available to Eddie O'Sullivan in November

"The timing of my comeback is not really an issue for me at the moment," explained O'Driscoll as he was revealed as Leinster captain for this season.

"It's only been six weeks since my operation, and I can only take each week as it comes.

"I'm just setting little targets. November is a long time away yet."

The 26-year-old did admit to being "really happy" with his shoulder rehab so far - even confirming himself "a little bit ahead of schedule."

He said: "It's coming along really well.

"There's no miracle cure for it. You just have to keep working hard to get it right, and keep listening to the physios.

"I have to keep myself in the best possible shape because there's no point in me getting super fit now and peaking for October when I'm not going to be playing."

O'Driscoll, chosen by recently-arrived Leinster coach Michael Cheika as the club's captain for 2005-06, is looking forward to his role at Leinster, despite being at least two months away from returning to pitchside.

"It's an element of captaincy that I haven't yet experienced - the day-to-day leading of a team.

"Whenever I've captained a team before, it's been coming in for small periods of time. But this is a year-long job.

"I've to think about it the whole time and when I do come back from international duty I'll have that responsibility again.