Falcons director of rugby, John Fletcher, said: “We have held a number of meetings with Matt in the past fortnight to decide what is the best way ahead for both parties.

“His current contract with the club is up at the end of this season, but there is a massive determination on our part to retain his services.

“Before suffering his injury Matt was playing some of the best rugby of his career, and even after what was a devastating blow he has remained an extremely positive presence around the team.

“He is a player who still falls firmly into the world class bracket, and clearly when there is the opportunity to keep such a talent at the club we are keen to make it happen.

“There is nothing concrete in place yet for next season, but what we have seen during our initial meetings with Matt is a commitment from him to look seriously at the option of staying for another season.”

Revealing the next step, Fletcher said: “Matt will fly home to Australia in the coming weeks to have his knee reconstruction, and will also undertake the initial phase of his rehab over there.

“We will then sit down and look at next season in more detail with all the relevant information, before hopefully reaching a positive conclusion.

“Matt is a truly outstanding individual, a sporting icon in Newcastle and remains very much part of this club even during his spell on the sidelines. The club has shown a massive determination to extend his stay for next season, and our talks continue to progress well.”

Burke joined the Falcons back in the summer of 2004, scoring 430 points in his 81 competitive games including 26 tries.

Capped 81 times by the Wallabies, the 1999 World Cup winner remains the second-highest points scorer in Australian test history.