John Terry will step up his return from a knee injury by featuring for Chelsea's development squad later this week.
The 32-year-old has been out of action since he suffered the problem during a Premier League encounter with Liverpool back in November.
However, he recently returned to training and interim manager Rafael Benitez has revealed that the former England centre-back is ready to get some minutes on the pitch.
"The good news is that Terry has been training and we are considering playing him for the Under-21s on Thursday, we will have to see how he feels," Benitez told reporters.
"Hopefully he can play some minutes in the short-term. It's a positive as before he was just doing the warm up, he's getting closer but it depends on his reactions.
"It will be a different kind of game, but if he is okay and can train the day after, at least we can start considering him as an option."
Should he suffer no setbacks, Terry could now be included in the Chelsea squad that will travel to Stoke City on Sunday afternoon.
Liam Apicella
