The manager of five-time Olympic gold medallist Ian Thorpe has not ruled out the prospect of the Australian star returning to action at the 2012 Games in London.

The Courier-Mail newspaper in Brisbane has reported that 27-year-old Thorpe, who quit the sport in 2006, has met with other Australian sprinters to discuss a possible return in the 4x100 metres relay in two years' time.

Thorpe's manager Dave Flaskas was quoted in the same newspaper as saying: "I guess it's one of those 'never say never' situations.

"Nothing is impossible, but as far as I'm aware there is nothing startling planned for the immediate future. But he is in great shape, he's lost a lot of weight and is still swimming.

"It would make a great story."

His former coach Tracey Menzies told the Nine Network: "I think he's an athlete and if he puts his mind to something he can achieve that goal, if this is the goal he wants to achieve at the end of his career he will definitely do it.

"The talk in the newspapers is that he wants to step on for a relay position first, I think that's a good stepping stone for him.

"It will be a lot of hard work, plenty of athletes will tell him that, a long journey ahead.

"He knows what he needs to do, he wouldn't be making these calls or making a decision to come back if he didn't know where he was at ... if that's what he said he's going to do."

Thorpe won three gold medals on home soil in Sydney in 2000 as a 17-year-old in the 400m freestyle, the 4x100m freestyle relay and the 4x200m freestyle relay.

He then added to his collection of golds in Athens in 2004 in the 200m and 400m freestyle and has claimed nine Olympic medals in total.