Chelsea handed injury boost as Andreas Christensen and Trevoh Chalobah return to training
According to the Evening Standard, Chelsea have been handed an injury boost with defenders Andreas Christensen and Trevoh Chalobah returning to full training with the first team. The duo was pictured training with the squad after the international break.
Manager Thomas Tuchel has had to face one headache after another this season with regard to his defenders thanks to injuries and Covid outbreaks. To add to this, wing-back Ben Chilwell has been ruled out for the season due to injury, leaving the Blues short of options on the left flank.
This news about Christensen and Chalobah returning to training will be a massive boost for the German, who will look to rotate his squad and keep legs fresh as the Blues look set for a month that could land them trophies in the form of the Carabao Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.
The defensive duo were out with Covid and a hamstring injury respectively, but both rejoined the Chelsea squad when players returned to training on Tuesday. This was after Tuchel gave the players a week off. With the second half of the season promising lots of silverware, the players will be expected to give their best as they return from a much-needed break.
Back in contention
Christensen may be one of the stars who could depart the club at the end of the season with his contract expiring in the summer. Tuchel will be happy to have the academy graduate back in his squad as the Blues look set for another fixture-heavy month, with multiple competitions in February.
England international Reece James was not pictured with the Chelsea squad but is said to be on course to return in time to feature at the FIFA Club World Cup later in the month. The right wing-back was another one of Tuchel’s injured defenders who faced a spell on the sidelines as the club was stretched thin in the defensive positions on the flanks.
Chelsea’s stars may be returning from a break in proceedings, but they have no time to breathe anymore as the Blues gear up for a busy end to the season. Tuchel’s first priority would be seeing his side progress in the FA Cup this weekend, as the club faces League One side Plymouth Argyle at home.
Following this, a trip to Abu Dhabi awaits the players as Chelsea take part in the FIFA Club World Cup, entering the competition as the defending European champions. They will no doubt be the favourites to win the trophy in the Middle East, and we will need to rotate our squad to keep players fresh for other games in February.
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Tuchel will also hope that he sees no fresh injuries for the rest of the season, as he competes to win the Carabao Cup and progress to the later stages of the Champions League later this month. We are potentially one more injury away from a defensive crisis, which we simply cannot afford at a time like this when we could be set for early silverware in the season.
The return of the academy stars will be of massive relief to us, as we look to kickstart our season once again after dropping crucial points the past few weeks. With the players getting some time off to recharge their batteries and shake off any fatigue, anything less than a 100% effort will simply not do as we aim to finish the season strongly and bring in another trophy or two.