Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink has admitted John Terry's last games for the club could be near.
The Blues skipper, 35, is struggling with an Achilles injury and has not featured since the 2-2 draw with West Ham in March, with a return against Tottenham on May 2 targeted.
The former England captain's contract expires this summer and he has not yet been offered an extension, making the Spurs fixture one of two chances he has to represent the club for potentially the final time at Stamford Bridge.
"It might be the case," Hiddink said when asked if Terry was nearing the end of his Chelsea career. "I am not sure about the future. He likes to play desperately, as soon as possible."
Tenth-placed Chelsea have five games left, with Bournemouth, Tottenham, Sunderland, Liverpool and Leicester City their remaining opponents. The Leicester and Spurs games are particularly important, with Claudio Ranieri's surprise leaders five points ahead of Chelsea's London rivals.
Meanwhile, Hiddink admitted that Terry's enthusiasm may have been the cause of his latest injury.
“I think he had the will and the wish to play [against West Ham] and the urgency of that game was a little bit too high compared to his physical fitness, he didn’t have an injury but he got a little bit of a setback after this last game.
"So hopefully he is feeling better than a few weeks ago which makes me think he might be available very soon.”
Hiddink also gave Terry a clear deadline for participation against Spurs, saying "he should be training with the group at least by Thursday” to be considered for the game.
Terry has spent his entire professional career with the Blues, joining the club at 14 from West Ham's youth academy
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