Graham Potter has received a much-needed injury boost ahead of Chelsea's return to action against Bournemouth on the 27th of December.
As reported by football.london's Adam Newson, Reece James, Wesley Fofana and Ben Chilwell are all progressing well from their respective injuries with hopes they could be ready for that fixture at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea are set to travel to Abu Dhabi this weekend for warm-weather training, including all of the players not involved in the World Cup. Among those travelling to the middle east will be players recovering from injuries too – with Kepa Arrizabalaga and Ruben Loftus-Cheek added to the list that includes James, Fofana and Chilwell.
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Having all of these players back would be huge for Potter given the unpredictability of the World Cup. Even though the knockout stage will see more names sent home rapidly, those players will need breaks after their involvement, meaning that the players currently at Cobham will likely make up the eleven that start after Christmas.
The rapid recovery of Chilwell will come as a surprise given the seriousness of the hamstring injury suffered late in the win over Dinamo Zagreb last month. A statement released by the club days later said: "Results show that Ben has suffered a significant injury and the defender is unfortunately expected to miss the World Cup.
"Ben will now begin a rehabilitation programme with the club’s medical department."
There were some suggestions that his absence from action could stretch as long as three months, putting him on a similar return date as N'Golo Kante – who has not kicked a ball since August. This update brings much-needed positivity for Chilwell and Chelsea given his importance of him.
Similar to James, whose knee injury in October ended his World Cup hopes and a brilliant run of form, both wingbacks proved to be essential in Chelsea's strongest run of form under Thomas Tuchel last season.
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