Graham Potter's new band is slowly coming back together and there's some new members available for him. As Chelsea's international stars return to Cobham for training ahead of a first league match for the new boss, there's a big boost.
Having missed the final match of Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea tenure with injury and then matches cancelled due to events surrounding Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II's death earlier this month, Edouard Mendy has been sidelined since September 3.
He found himself on the bench against Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League, due to ma combination of a knee injury and the chance to give Kepa gametime, with Mendy also in the worst run of form at Chelsea since joining in 2020. Injury was then cited as the reason behind Kepa starting in Potter's only match in charge so far, the 1-1 draw against RB Salzburg.
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Football.london reported last week that Mendy had returned to Surrey after pulling out of Senegal's national team squad, though that was mostly expected.
Since coming back it seems as though the 30-year-old has made great progress in his recovery though. In a video posted on Twitter, Mendy is seen playing in a game of head tennis with Kepa, Marcus Bettinelli and the goalkeeping coaches at the club.
Far from being out of the way, Mendy teams up with Kepa to keep the ball up and even lunges close to the net to make sure his shot drops the right side. He then turns back with great agility to backheel the ball over the net before winning the point.
This doesn't necessarily confirm his involvement against Crystal Palace, partly as he was able to be on the bench against Dinamo Zagreb but not against Salzburg. He may also not be Potter's first choice, with Kepa's ball-playing ability possibly being a key factor in the fight for the No.1 spot.
Nevertheless, Mendy's return to training in that sense is still a big boost and will serve as an even bigger one for the rest of his defence. Chelsea have only kept one clean sheet this season and that was on the opening day of the season, seven games ago.
If Mendy does play, it will be his 100th in Chelsea colours, during which time he has kept 49 clean sheets.
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