19-year-old Chelsea starlet spotted in first-team training after recovering from injury

Chelsea starlet Xavier Mbuyamba pictured in training for the first time

A certain Xavier Mbuyamba was pictured in first-team training for the first time as a Chelsea player (h/t Football.london). The youngster had never featured for the senior side in any capacity due to injuries. However, he was involved with some of the first-team players who were not on international duty.

The short international break early in the season has given Chelsea and Thomas Tuchel a chance to regroup and assess their situation. A lot of players are with their nations but several stars are back at Cobham for training. While a lot of first-team stars were there, it was noticed that a certain Xavier Mbuyamba was also involved.

Mbuyamba was a summer signing for the academy last season but he was yet to feature for any of the youth sides. That was due to him suffering a knee injury soon after signing for the club last year. He recovered his way to training in January but another operation meant that he was out for a longer period of time than originally stipulated.

It was only in April that he played his first-ever game for the U-23’s. Since then he has gone on to make seven more appearances for them. However, he was involved with the first team for the first time during this break. He was seen in the training clip Chelsea released featuring Saul Niguez.

Xavier Mbuyamba during a match for the Netherlands youth team.
Xavier Mbuyamba during a match for the Netherlands youth team.

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The fact that Mbuyamba is back to full fitness and even participated in training with the senior side is encouraging. However, it might be a while before he might get his first cap under Thomas Tuchel as there are far too many players ahead of him in central defence.