Chelsea look to have been offered a double injury boost ahead of their Premier League return against Crystal Palace.
Following the international break, the Blues make the short trip to face Crystal Palace in a London derby at Selhurst Park on Saturday, the first top-flight contest under new manager Graham Potter.
Indeed, it is Chelsea’s first League fixture of any kind since the last-gasp 2-1 win over West Ham on September 3, with subsequent games against Fulham and Liverpool postponed following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
Former Brighton boss Potter will be eager for a swift improvement, having been held to a 1-1 home Champions League draw by Red Bull Salzburg in his first match in charge, which followed the woeful defeat in Zagreb that signalled the end of Thomas Tuchel’s tenure.
And Chelsea’s hopes against Palace appear to have been boosted by the return to fitness of two players during the break.
First-choice goalkeeper Edouard Mendy missed the European outings against Zagreb and Salzburg with a recurring knee issue, with deputy Kepa Arrizabalaga stepping into the fray.
Standard Sport understands that the 30-year-old briefly joined up to greet his Senegal team-mates ahead of their friendly against Bolivia in France last week before heading back to Chelsea.
And Mendy is clearly making progress in his quest to return against Palace, having been pictured being put through his paces by Potter alongside a small group of Chelsea first-teamers at Cobham on Monday.
More good news comes regarding the fitness of Christian Pulisic. The winger is away with the United States but missed Friday’s friendly defeat by Japan in Dusseldorf due to a knock suffered in training.
It was not the first time that Pulisic has been injured while on international duty, but the unspecified issue won’t keep him sidelined any longer.
USA boss Gregg Berhalter confirmed on Monday that the former Borussia Dortmund winger was now fit and will start for his country against Saudi Arabia in Murca tonight, his 52nd senior cap.
Chelsea’s only other known injury concern at present is N’Golo Kante, who has missed all of the last six matches with a hamstring problem suffered against Tottenham in August.
He is believed to have been engaging in individual drills at Cobham as he closes in on a return, having not joined up with France for the Nations League double-header against Austria and Denmark.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Trevoh Chalobah were also working back at Cobham on Monday, Chelsea confirmed, along with Mendy, Kepa and Marcus Bettinelli.
