Jose Mourinho Boost: Chelsea’s forgotten £8m man, Marco Van Ginkel, dreams of World Cup

Chelsea midfielder Marco Van Ginkel is targeting a return to action before the end of the season, despite initial diagnosis suggesting that he would miss the rest of the season through injury. The summer signing from Vitesse sustained a knee ligament injury during a Capital One Cup fixture with Swindon Town in September, but revealed to the Evening Standard that his surgeon “had rarely seen such a speedy recovery” and that he has returned to light training at the club.

“He’d (the surgeon) rarely seen such a speedy recovery,” said Van Ginkel. “Together with the fact that I was physically fit as a fiddle, this has ensured that I am now so well.”

“I volunteer at nine o’clock at the club, get treated, warm myself up in the gym or the pool and then go to the physiotherapist on the field. Now I can already change direction, reverse, cut, turn and shoot. Actually, I can do anything.”

Having revealed that he was on course to play again this season, the Dutch international conceded that he had not thought about the prospect of making the World Cup in Brazil.

“The World Cup would be a bonus, because I am only focused on my recovery”, he said. “My main goal is to get fully match fit again. And if that works in the short term, you never know what can result.”

In his first Champions League start for the club, against Basel in September, Van Ginkel achieved a pass accuracy of 96%.