Nigel Pearson says the door is still open for Tomas Kalas to extend his stay at Bristol City but his situation could become clearer depending on whether he plays a part in the next two matches.
The City manager confirmed the centre-back will feature in the matchday squad this Saturday to take on Burnley after undergoing full training throughout the week. Kalas, 29, hasn't played since he injured his knee in the 2-0 defeat at Cardiff at the beginning of March.
It's been a long and difficult season for the Czech, whose string of injuries and set-backs have limited him to just two league starts and five substitute appearances. His inability to maintain his fitness has cast doubt on his future in BS3 as he approaches the expiration of his contract at the end of the season.
That's just one factor that will determine whether Kalas extends his four-year stay at the Robins, the other being the necessity to take a wage reduction to fall in line with City's salary cap which has been implemented in order to help continue balancing the books.
Speaking ahead of the club's final home game of the season against champions Burnley, Pearson said: "We've got Tomas who comes back into the squad which is really positive for us but I think for him as well.
"It would be very encouraging both for us and him to get some pitch time out of him over the last two fixtures. We're in a relatively decent position fitness-wise, obviously, we can't get the long-term players back this season but we've continued to work hard on and off the pitch to keep the availability high so the competition on matchdays is still there."
When asked whether has been any update on his contract situation, which also included the likes of Jay Dasilva and Zak Vyner, with the latter in talks over a long-term deal after a year extension was activated, Pearson responded: "Not this week no… We just hope for Tomas, he plays a part over the next two games. I think that will clarify the situation.
"I don’t really want to talk too much about that. I don’t like talking about it on here, I know it’s something that will be speculated on but all I will say is I will make sure we keep you up to date when there are developments. It’s all I can offer for you at the moment.
"We know what he (Kalas) is capable of as a player. There are other elements to it.
"It’s not really right for him to sit as a third party discussing him. They used to say in the 20s and 30s it was the done thing, old boy, so we'll leave that one.
"He's a player I like, he's a person I like too but clearly it's been a difficult 18 months for him. We'll see how it goes over the next two games and yea - doors are never closed, you know."
Pearson spoke of the positives they've achieved off the pitch, including the ability to reduce the wage bill which has dropped from £30.25million to £23.81m over the previous financial year (2021/22). City will look to get their transfer business completed early this summer with three or four additions ahead of pre-season.
There are three targets in mind in Aberdeen's Ross McCrorie, centre-back Jake O'Brien and left-back Jack Currie with the club prioritising adding strength in depth at the back. Pearson added: "I think we know from the financial side, we've tried to reduce the wage bill and try and set some sort of a wage structure which is more competitive and fairer.
"It's a difficult thing to juggle improving a side without being able to invest lots of money in terms of fees for players but you can still invest your time and energy in the players who have and we will always try and do that.
"It means when we do go out to spend money, we'll be spending it in a way that we're competitive with but we are very mindful of the fact that we don't want to waste it."
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