The 35-year-old's existing deal runs out at the end of the season, and with no new agreement in place, he will be able to talk to potential purchasers in January.

However, speaking at the announcement of his newly signed partnership with US sportswear company Under Armour, Schwarzer revealed: "At the last discussions which were held, it was basically left that there will be more discussions in the new year.

"There are a lot of things going on at the moment - we need to get results on the board, we need to concentrate on making sure we as a team start performing better and once we do that, I'm sure discussions will begin.

"It goes both ways. It's not necessarily just about whether I want to stay, it's also whether the club wants to keep me.

"But that's another issue altogether, at this moment in time, I'm not even thinking about it.

"All I'm thinking about is playing and getting back fit again and getting back into the side and hopefully contributing towards getting the team out of the bottom part of the table."

Schwarzer is currently recovering from the broken thumb he suffered in training last week which kept him out of Saturday's 1-1 Barclays Premier League draw at Reading.

However, he has trained for the last two days wearing a protective splint, and while he must remain a doubt for Sunday's visit of league leaders Arsenal to the Riverside Stadium, he has not given up hope.

He said: "There's definitely a chance for being fit. It's been a little bit of a surprise that it's come along so quickly.

"But when you go and speak to the specialists and they give you the confidence and their opinion over what can be and what cannot be done, they were very confident that this week I would be able to do some handling at the very least.

"So far, the first day and a half of training I have done with regard to goalkeeping has been very encouraging.

"It's just one of those things. I've got a break, but it's a clean break across the whole finger and it's short of the nail so it is in an area where there's a lot of tissue around it.

"It's very secure - it's not in a joint so it's not aggravated when I move my hand.

"It's just that the actual pressure of being hit on that spot again is going to cause some problem.

"But if I wear something protective over it, it's going to solve that problem and it won't be an issue."

Manager Gareth Southgate will make a decision on Schwarzer, who last weekend saw his children's book 'Megs and the Vootball Kids', written in conjunction with Neil Montagana Wallace, go on sale in Britain after moving almost 15,000 copies in Australia, after he returns to training on Friday with Ross Turnbull and the fit-again Brad Jones standing by.

Meanwhile, midfielder Julio Arca was due to return to action for the reserves against Sunderland tonight after having painkilling injections in his knee.

The 26-year-old Argentinian missed the Reading game after complaining of discomfort following his return from a medial ligament injury.

He will be joined in the second string by defender Robert Huth as he continues his comeback from ankle surgery.