The 25-year-old took a step back from the sport after winning two Olympic silver medals in the singles and team event at Sochi in 2014 but has started competing again this year with his focus on Pyeongchang 2018.

Chan won Skate Canada, finished fourth at the Grand Prix Final and claimed the gold medal in the Four Continents Championships in Taipei last month with a personal-best free skate score.

“If I decide to go ahead and compete, then I’m going for the next two years, I’m not going to give up after next year because it would be such a shame,” Chan told Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail.

“And if I decide not to compete next season, and decide to pick it up just for the Olympic season, that would be completely ridiculous strategically, so this is going to be the deciding factor after this season, whether I keep going.”

Chan, officially named today in Canada's team for Boston, won the World Championship gold medal in 2011, 2012 and 2013.

A victory in the American city would see him equal the record of Kurt Browning for the most wins ever by a Canadian.

It would be a major surprise, however, if Chan beat Japan's Yuzuru Hanyu, the Olympic gold medallist and the 2014 world champion. 

“I am a bit of an underdog, but it’s kind of exciting for me," Chan told The Globe and Mail.

I don’t feel like I need to defend anything.

"The combination of keeping it fresh, yet familiar is a good balance.

"And I think that might help me a lot.”

Chan will be part of a 16-strong Canadian team competing at the TD Garden in Boston in an event due to start on Monday (March 28) and last until April 3.

The team's other main hopes for a medal are defending world champions and Olympic silver medallists Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford in the pairs.