LIVERPOOL -- Leon Osman has the potential to carry on playing for Everton for years to come, according to manager Roberto Martinez.
The England international midfielder, 33, signed a one-year contract extension on Thursday, and marked it that evening with a goal as the Toffees beat Lille 3-0 in the Europa League.
Osman has only been signed up until the summer of 2016 as Everton have a policy of awarding shorter-term contracts to players over 30.
But Martinez feels that the midfielder, an Academy graduate who made his first-team debut for the club in 2003 and had his testimonial in August this year, still has plenty to offer.
OSMAN: A testimonial dinner, new contract and first goal of the season, @Osman21Leon talks about his great week: http://t.co/2prAmw8uJu #EFC
- Everton (@Everton) November 7, 2014
The manager said: "You don't get many players like Leon celebrating a testimonial. You don't get that in the modern game.
"You look at the way he's enjoying his football, the way that he's efficient and effective in games, and the way he took his goal yesterday, that gives you a snapshot of what he brings to a game.
"The extra year is a reward. We're not waiting until the end of the season for that.
"Signing for a year does not mean you are going to retire at the end of that contract. I hope that Leon Osman is fully fit for many years to come, and that he can write many more pages of history with Everton.
"He's very close to 400 appearances for the club. As you can imagine, he's a special figure for us."
Osman's contract extension has come with further good news for Martinez ahead of Sunday's Premier League trip to Sunderland.
Defender Antolin Alcaraz will not need surgery on the dislocated shoulder he suffered during last Saturday's 0-0 Premier League draw at home to Swansea. Martinez said on Wednesday that he feared the 31-year-old defender would be out for up to 12 weeks if he had an operation.
But the manager now feels Alcaraz will be back in around a month.
He said: "We decided not to go for surgery. The specialist feels that's the best way to approach the injury.
"That's great news. It reduces the period that Antolin's going to be out. We'll find out over the next few days how he responds, but we're probably talking now about a period of three, four, five weeks maximum, which is fantastic news, given what we feared earlier."
Martinez, though does have injury doubts over midfielder Gareth Barry and right-back Seamus Coleman.
Barry suffered a knock to the ankle, as well as a gash to his shin, during the win over Lille, a match that Coleman missed because of a cut to his Achilles tendon, which needed stitches.
Forward Kevin Mirallas also remains unavailable with the hamstring injury he suffered during the 1-1 league draw at Liverpool on Sept. 27.
Martinez said: "Kevin's stepped up his work. It's a case of waiting maybe two to three weeks for him. It's difficult to put a time-scale on it because he is a sprinter. But he's looking really good to start playing before the turn of the year."