Trevoh Chalobah is expected to make his return to Chelsea first-team training on Friday and football.london also understands Reece James has also stepped up his recovery from a hamstring injury this week.
Chalobah has been absent since the 2-2 draw with Liverpool at Stamford Bridge at the start of the month. The academy graduate went into that game nursing a hamstring issue yet opted to play as the Blues were short of defensive options.
He was able to complete 70 minutes before being replaced but the 22-year-old has been sidelined since. Having rushed Chalobah back from injury in December due to Covid cases in the Chelsea squad, he has this time been given ample time to recover.
The first-team squad have been given today and tomorrow off – something Thomas Tuchel feels is hugely important – but when they reconvene at Cobham on Friday to prepare for Sunday's clash with Tottenham, Chalobah should be back with the group and pushing to feature against Antonio Conte's side.
James has been ruled out since the end of December having suffered a torn hamstring in the 1-1 draw against Brighton at Stamford Bridge.
The England international left that game on crutches and there were fears he would have to undergo surgery to ensure a full recovery. That proved not to be the case but James was expected to be ruled out for around six to eight weeks.
football.london understands the 22-year-old's recovery has been going well and that he has undertaken some light jogging on the training pitches at Cobham this week. However, James is still not close to making a return to the first-team squad.
The past seven weeks have pushed Chelsea's players and coaching staff to the limit. The Blues have played 15 games since the beginning of December and after last night's 1-1 draw against Brighton at the Amex Stadium, Tuchel admitted his squad was feeling the effects of that relentless schedule.
"We are mentally tired and physically tired. You can see it in our performance. It's as easy as that," the Chelsea head coach said during his post-match press conference.
"Look at our last week and you will know what we are talking about. We had three away games in seven days, and it's not only about playing, it's also about travelling and not sleeping.
"We don't do this for one week and then we complain. We don't complain now either but we just explain why the performance can look like this in the middle of January in an away game at Brighton.
"This can happen and if you tell me that this never happened before to any Chelsea team or team in the Premier League, I can only laugh because it's happened.
"We've done this since November, so we arrive in a game where we don't reach our full potential. Welcome to reality.
"We can't be surprised and we want to do more and do it better, but in the end we have to accept it. We take a draw and we go.
"We tried everything, tried hard, but there is a certain level of fatigue we can feel."
