Graham Potter says Reece James is the nearest of Chelsea’s injured stars to a full return to training.
The England defender has been reintroduced to light training this week as the Blues ramp up preparations for the return to Premier League action with a camp in Abu Dhabi.
Further behind are Wesley Fofana, N’Golo Kante, Ben Chilwell, Kepa Arrizabalaga and Ruben Loftus-Cheek as Chelsea’s treatment room looks for some welcome respite.
Potter told the club website: “Reece is not quite fully training but he’s integrating into training along with Wesley. Wesley is a little bit further behind but not too far.
“Ben has come back from his individual work in Dubai and he’s now working closer with the guys but still not team training
“N’Golo is a little bit further away but again he’s progressing well.
“Kepa is not quite with the team yet but has stepped up his rehab. Ruben is doing some work in the gym so we’re hopeful that he can be involved next week but we’ll see how he goes.
“There are lots of players at different levels and that’s the challenge but we’re making progress so that’s the positive.”
Chelsea face Aston Villa in a friendly on the weekend before returning to competitive action against Bournemouth on December 27.
