Kane tore his ACL in April and spent the summer recovering at Cobham

The 23-year-old defender has spent 16 years at the club already

As Antonio Conte tries to plot a plan to fix Chelsea’s porous defence, there is one possible solution known to all at the club currently to be found away from the Premier League glare.

Todd Kane signed a new three-year Chelsea contract last week and while he is not available immediately could later this season offer Conte a choice in a troublesome position as well as a rare link to the fans.

Kane is dyed in the wool Chelsea in the manner of John Terry, having spent 16 years at the club already, and following a successful loan at NEC Nijmegen last season is viewed among the hierarchy as a genuine contender.

Young defender Todd Kane signed a new three-year Chelsea contract last week

Predominantly a right-back, Kane would have been taken on Chelsea’s pre-season tour were it not for a desperately unlucky knee injury sustained at the end of his spell in Holland.

The 23-year-old tore his ACL in April and spent the summer recovering at Cobham. Now he is looking forward to starting ball work and ultimately fighting for his first appearances in the blue shirt he has long coveted.

‘I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel,’ Kane told Sportsmail. ‘I’ve made good progress. It is five months now since my operation. I am trying to get stronger in my legs. The club have been great.

‘Kurt Zouma had the same injury, and at the start of the summer I was working with him and talking.

‘I’ll be doing a bit of non-contact training in six to eight weeks, starting to get a feel of the ball. I will train with the younger age groups to get used to moving, then work my way up and get match fitness.

‘It has been the hardest thing I have had to deal with in my career. I have never had a serious injury. It has made me grow as a person, made my mind much stronger. I just have to be patient and not rush it.’

Even though supporters have never seen him play a senior game, Kane is popular due to his long-term bond to the club, which he joined age seven. He won the FA Youth Cup in 2012 and was a back-up substitute in the Champions League final the same year.

Antonio Conte is trying to plot a plan to fix Chelsea’s porous defence at present

A promising loan at Blackburn two seasons ago was followed by shorter spells at Bristol City and Nottingham Forest but last season felt like a breakthrough year as he became a key player for NEC.

Technical director Michael Emenalo was sufficiently impressed to offer a contract extension and Kane may even have been pushing Branislav Ivanovic for a place now had injury not intervened.

Kane said: ‘With the season I had I was due to come back to Chelsea for pre-season and show what I can do. But I believe everything happens for a reason.

‘I went to Holland, into a different league, as I’d always wanted to play abroad. The team plays great football and I was able to express myself.

‘My game is about going forwards but was able to work on my defensive role. I got made vice-captain because I was a leader in the team. It was an honour.

‘Chelsea watched every game. I was in contact with Eddie Newton and Paolo Ferraira (who oversee loans), and they would often come over. They were very pleased.’

Certainly, Kane had no distractions while living abroad for the first time. ‘The centre of Nijmegen is student accommodation so I had to go further out to find somewhere more secure,’ he said.

Kane could be pushing Branislav Ivanovic for a place now had injury not intervened

‘I was looking on the internet as well as NEC and settled on a place in Middelaar, about a 20-minute drive from the training ground and stadium. It was a house in the middle of a field! You had to drive ten minutes to a shop.

‘I had a neighbour and that was it. I didn’t have TV for about six months but then found out through a friend I could get Sky. That was a life-saver.’

Despite being only 40 minutes from Arnhem, where Chelsea send a number of their young loan players, Kane would rarely venture up.

‘I had other friends at Vitesse who were living in a bigger town centre. But I wasn’t allowed to be seen there because of the rivalry between fans!

‘It was difficult at times but I went out there for one thing: to concentrate on football. I did that.

‘I have been at Chelsea since I was seven. I have not want to just sit there. I got my name out there, improved as a player, and have come back to Chelsea feeling that I am ready. I don’t want to go on loan any more.’

Kane is eager to show Conte the same application and ability, having used his time in the treatment room to study the Chelsea manager’s Italy team at Euro 2016 and his Juventus side before that. He believes he would perfectly suit Conte’s favoured wing-back system.

Chelsea skipper John Terry is expected to be fit for Saturday’s trip to Hull

Kane said: ‘From looking at his previous jobs he wants to play 3-5-2 formation. What he did using it with Italy was incredible. But right now he is playing the formation that suits the players best.

‘Once I am match fit touch wood he likes me and wants to get me involved. That formation would suit me down to the ground. I have a good engine to get up and down and my game would come on leaps and bounds.’

Chelsea fans would certainly celebrate the emergence of one of their own, with Terry the last local connection to the academy. Kane has taken inspiration from the former England captain, who is expected to be fit for Saturday’s trip to Hull.

‘When I was young at the academy my idols were him, Denis Wise and Gianfranco Zola. I would spend ages looking at them train.

‘When I got older and the others left there was JT to look up to. What he has done for Chelsea is incredible. I feel I have a good relationship with him. He understands I have been at the club a long time. I feel we have the same mindset.

‘I am not just there because I want to make up the numbers up. I am there because I want to, in the future, have a proper chance to take over what he has done for the club. The way I am as a person I know I can do that. But I need the opportunity.