He had contemplated quitting last summer but did not want to end on a low note after being relegated with West Ham - a situation he describes as "the low point of my career."

Ferdinand has been leaning for most of the season towards calling it a day but several Leicester players have urged him to reconsider after his form for the Foxes.

The former England star said: "The decision might still be made for me if the knee is really bad.

"I'll just have to wait until the end of the season when I go and see the surgeon. We'll see what he says and then I'll make my decision from there."

Ferdinand has made himself available to play in Saturday's vital match at Blackburn after missing the last three games.

He said: "The knee problem has been bugging me all season but I'd been able to get away with it until the Leeds game when the joint opened out on me and caused some big swelling in my knee.

"It has taken a couple of weeks to get the swelling down and I desperately want to play a part in the club's fight for Premiership survival.

"Although I wasn't there for the first half of last season, being relegated with West Ham was still the low point of my career.

"We need to start winning games now at Leicester. We had a run of draws recently but we need to win games."