Ahead of tomorrow's clash with Wolves, Howe said: "It wasn't quick from our side or Elliot's.
"It was a huge frustration for him that he hasn't be able to return to training sooner.
"With the type of (back) injury he had, we had to be careful, but when he eventually got back on the grass and stepped up his rehabilitation, he has felt good and looked fine. We are going to have to nurse him back and look after him because we want him to stay fit. He has been a huge miss because of his versatility, so it is great to have him back."
On the feeling within the squad as players started to return from injury, he added: "At one point we only had 14 or 15 players in the training group, now we have just over 20, so the whole group has been lifted by that. The challenge now is to get them all back to fitness as quickly as possible.