Tampa Bay Lightning forward Steven Stamkos is still without a timetable for his return from knee surgery, but general manager Steve Yzerman said the star forward's recovery is "right on course."

Stamkos, who underwent meniscus surgery on Nov. 16, was given a four-to-six month timeline for recovery after the procedure.

"It's still, for Stammer, relatively early," Yzerman told a team broadcast on Thursday, per the Tampa Bay Times. "Again, the procedure that he had - in the big picture - is very positive. They were able to repair the cartilage, and so far, every indication is that healing is right on course and it's going to heal and he's going to be fine. And that's the best-case scenario is to repair the cartilage and you go on and you resume your career. So, that's good.

"It's still relatively early to have a date and say he's going to be back -- March 15, April 1 or whatnot. So, he's progressing well."

Prior to undergoing surgery, Stamkos appeared in 17 games this season, scoring nine goals and adding 11 assists. He scored 36 goals and tallied 64 points in 77 games last season, but missed all but one game in the postseason due to a blood clot.

Yzerman said it was also too early to put a timeline of the recovery of Ryan Callahan, who was ruled out for four weeks with a hip injury on Jan. 16. He said that, like Stamkos, Callahan is "progressing in the right direction."

The Lightning sit second last in the Eastern Conference with a 22-24-6 record through 52 games. The team lost 5-2 to the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night.