Petr Cech hopes to soon be back in first-team action to boost Chelsea's battle for honours.
The Czech Republic goalkeeper suffered a hip injury at the end of December and has missed the last four matches.
However, the 25-year-old has now stepped up his fitness work and trained with the rest of the squad today and is understood to be in contention for Saturday's Barclays Premier League clash with Tottenham at Stamford Bridge.
'Recently I have been training hard, returning to fitness and the injury reacted very well, so hopefully I am on the way back,' Cech told Chelsea TV.
'If nothing changes, I should join the team on Thursday and I hope I will stay there on the pitch as long as I can.'
Cech added: 'It was quite a long time I was injured with first my calf and then I played only a few games and I was injured again - so I hope I stay fit in the new year.'
Despite the absence several key players, as well as Cech, Chelsea have secured four straight wins since the 4-4 draw with Aston Villa on St Stephen's Day.
Avram Grant, though, could well head into the Spurs game with the possibility of Claudio Pizarro being their only fit senior striker.
Ivory Coast duo Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou are on international duty at the African Nations' Cup, and Andriy Shevchenko is still sidelined with a leg injury.
Israeli youngster Ben Sahar, who Was on the bench against Everton in midweek, could come into contention.
The Chelsea boss remains, however, keen to land Bolton's Nicolas Anelka.
Wanderers are said to be holding out for £15million to allow the former Arsenal and Real Madrid striker to leave, with Chelsea having their first bid, believed to be £11million, rejected earlier in the week.
Anelka's advisor Doug Pingisi claims his client has sights set on Stamford Bridge.
'He really wants to go to Chelsea,' Pingisi said in French daily newspaper L'Equipe. 'Nicolas is calm. He hopes that everything will be finalised this week.
'He has been waiting for such an opportunity for years. He appreciates the fact that he is at the top of the list of players wanted by Chelsea at the moment.
'For Nico, it is very important he finds a club that will allow him to express himself at the highest level. Moreover, this club is still involved in every competition, particularly the Champions League.'
