Twenty five months have passed since Marco Van Ginkel's last game but the Dutch midfielder is set to be offered a new deal by Chelsea and will be given an opportunity to prove himself to Frank Lampard after recovering from a serious knee injury.
The 27-year-old had made a return to training before the coronavirus pandemic put football on hiatus.
But in an interview with ad.nl he said that his agent Karel Jansen is in talks over a new deal that would see him train with the reserves in the short-term.
While a new deal is not yet completed it looks likely that a player once referred to as the heir to Lampard's midfield throne will remain in West London.
He is likely to be given an audition in pre-season but with competition in midfield high there is also a potential that he could be sold or loaned out.
Still, the security of a contract is a boost for Van Ginkel following such a long spell on the sidelines and the possibility that he would have entered the summer as a free agent.
"I am very happy with that sign of confidence from Chelsea," Van Ginkel said. "It is no small thing that a club tries to keep you in such an uncertain time after such a long injury period. Apparently they still see something in me."
Van Ginkel has not played since May 2018, when he was captaining PSV Eindhoven to the Eredivisie title, but had knee surgery several weeks later and has had several setbacks since.
But he believes that he can make a full comeback. "My career is not over yet," he added. "Absolutely, I'm looking forward to [returning]."
Of the Chelsea players who were out of contract on June 30, Olivier Giroud and Willy Caballero have already agreed one-year extensions while Pedro Rodriguez is set to depart amid interest from Roma at the end of the delayed campaign.
Willian is also set to depart after talks stalled on a new contract with the Brazilian demanding a three-year contract and the club only willing to offer two seasons.
