Graham Potter has been handed a massive injury boost at a vital time ahead of Chelsea's London derby with fierce rivals Arsenal.
The new boss has been working with a depleted squad and immense fitness issues since he arrived in September and those problems have only gotten worse as the weeks have gone on. Potter has just five first team defenders fit - making a back five from the start a risky strategy - and is also balancing midfield fatigue as well.
When Potter chose to play with an almost fully-fit squad against Dinamo Zagreb on Wednesday it raised questions, and it almost came back to bite him more than the sting already hurts.
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Ben Chilwell was helped off the pitch and left the stadium on crutches after injuring his hamstring in the final minute of a dead-rubber, denting his and Potter's fitness hopes for the coming weeks and for the World Cup. Things were nearly worse earlier on though, as Kalidou Koulibaly went down holding his knee in the first half.
The Senegalese defender missed matches against Manchester United, RB Salzburg and Brighton after feeling a tweak there against Brentford and his side suffered their worst result without him.
Ahead of a crucial game against Arsenal though, the 31-year-old has given Potter a big boost. “We will see if the coach chooses this,” he said. “Me, at the moment, I am feeling better. I personally had ten tough days [to come back], but I am feeling better and ready to be on the pitch.”
Koulibaly looked more uncomfortable in a back four alongside Trevoh Chalobah but could return into a back three against the Gunners. His believes his side are ready for their biggest test of the campaign so far. “We played well and it prepared the game well for Sunday, Koulibaly said.
“Saturday can happen [against Brighton], to have a loss, but this is what is good that you can give a positive answer and we did that. We now have to think about Sunday as it will be a tough game against a nice team.
“[Arsenal] is a nice team, a tough team, they are winning. We know they have a lot of talents. They played together for years now. You can see it on the pitch. We will try to do our best on Sunday to win this game but it will be tough.
“We have home advantage and to be here with our supporters will be great. I will do my best to get in the team and we know that it will be a tough game and do our best.”
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