Dutch star Bolo Zenden arrived in Athens yesterday with an increasing chance of being fit for the Champions League final.

Midfielder Zenden damaged an ankle last week at Liverpool's La Manga training camp and left Spain for Saturday's flight home on crutches.

But Zenden, 30, whose contract expires at Anfield this summer, could still make his final appearance for the Reds when they take on AC Milan in the Olympic Stadium on Wednesday.

Zenden's future is unclear, and the fear was that injury would rule him out of Rafael Benitez's squad as Liverpool bid to win the European crown for the sixth time.

But club spokesman Ian Cotton said: ''Bolo is progressing as well as can be expected, he is doing fine and we will have to see how his fitness progresses over the next couple of days.''

Benitez has vowed to give Zenden every chance to prove his fitness, but he has Harry Kewell on stand-by and can also call on John Arne Riise to play in that role, with Alvaro Arbeloa filling in at left-back.

Mark Gonzalez also comes into the equation if Zenden fails to recover from his injury.

But Zenden is determined to play, he said: ''I do not want to talk about my future at the moment. For anyone to be playing in a final would be fantastic, but I will let people know about my future after the game. A Champions League medal on my CV would be quite nice, though.''

And Zenden, who surprisingly played in both legs of the semi-final triumph against Chelsea, added: ''I hope my performances against Chelsea in the semi-final will mean I will be given a start.

''I played in most of the Champions League games this year. I think I have been involved in maybe 80 or 90 per cent of the games so I am really looking forward to the final again. ''

And Zenden believes Liverpool have what it takes to overcome the Italians, for the second final in three seasons.

He added: ''We have a mentality we can deal with anything that can be thrown at us.

''They are a fantastic team and have a lot of experience. They are a team that have played a lot of big games and finals and some of them have won the Champions League several times.

''And although we have players who are in the final for the first time, the occasion will be an extra motivation to bring the cup back home.''

Liverpool flew to the Greek capital knowing Jamie Carragher, Steven Gerrard and Steve Finnan were all on the brink of signing new contracts, having verbally agreed deals.

Chief executive Rick Parry said: ''Nothing more will be done now until after the final, nobody has actually signed anything yet.''

New owner George Gillett is delighted with the news homegrown stars Gerrard and Carragher have agreed deals which will take them into their thirties.

Gillett said: ''I have never seen anything quite like it. I am sure there are other situations, I am just not familiar with them, where you get two young men who come from the same area, who came into the programme through the Academy at nine years of age, who have been with the club all of these years.

''And they have become such an integral part of the club that they are now not only integrated into it but they lead by example and by intellect and energy.

''When you are close to the pitch you hear it. You know we have the benefit of having two extraordinary leaders out there at the same time - one in midfield and forward, and the other in the back. Damn few clubs have that.