Didier Drogba has confirmed he is travelling to Qatar to prepare for preseason training with Montreal Impact following reports he could leave the MLS club for a return to Chelsea.
Drogba's former manager and mentor Guy Lacombe said earlier in January that the striker wanted to return to Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea interim manager Guus Hiddink said last month that the Premier League champions were in talks with the Ivorian about a third spell in West London as part of the backroom team after both men watched Chelsea begin life after Jose Mourinho alongside owner Roman Abramovich.
On way to Qatar to do some preparation work for pre-season �������������������� @impactmontreal pic.twitter.com/KnZdQXdr4Q
- Didier Drogba (@didierdrogba) January 24, 2016
Drogba left Chelsea for the second time last summer to join Montreal Impact, scoring 11 goals in 11 MLS matches to fire his team to the Eastern Conference semifinals. The 38-year-old is contracted until December 2016 and took to Twitter earlier this month to downplay reports of his imminent retirement.
The striker again used Twitter to confirm he will be in training for Impact ahead of the new MLS season, writing: "On way to Qatar to do some preparation work for pre-season @impactmontreal."
An official statement released on Impact's official website on Sunday read: "Forward Didier Drogba will not be present for the opening of the camp, but he will be doing preparation work in view of the upcoming season.
"He will join the team for the second part of training camp, which will take place from Feb. 15 to 28 in St. Petersburg, Florida."
Drogba won four Premier League titles, four FA Cups, three League Cups and the Champions League over a total of nine years at Stamford Bridge, and was voted Chelsea's greatest ever player in a poll conducted by the club's official magazine in 2012.