Graham Potter sacked by Chelsea. (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)
Speaking to the media ahead of the Fulham game (h/t Football.London), Chelsea boss Graham Potter offered updates on the availability of Reece James, Ben Chilwell and more as the Blues return to action on Friday.
With no games last weekend due to an early exit from the FA Cup to Manchester City, Chelsea had a two-week gap between their previous game against Liverpool and the next one coming up against Fulham.
During that time, a lot happened in the transfer market, with the Blues breaking the British transfer record for signing midfielder Enzo Fernandez.
Anyway, here’s what Potter said regarding the availability of the players who had been missing games due to their respective injuries (h/t Football.London):
“Ben Chilwell, Reece James, Raheem Sterling, and Ruben [Loftus-Cheek] are back in the squad, not ready for 90 minutes but in the squad. Wesley [Fofana] has been part training partly with the team and he will be stepping it up next week. We are still without Denis [Zakaria], [Christian] Pulisic, Mateo Kovacic, N’Golo Kante and Armando Broja.”
Chilwell and James returned to training before the Liverpool game, but they were never going to play at Anfield. It seems as if we might see them play some part on Friday. With five substitutes allowed, Potter has the room to manoeuvre his squad in the game too.
It is good to know that Sterling is back in contention after having picked up a hamstring injury against Manchester City early last month. Ruben Loftus-Cheek has been out since he picked up a knock against Newcastle United just before the World Cup.
Potter was also asked whether Fernandez will be available for the Fulham clash. The manager was not too sure about it, referring to the paperwork that still need to be done to get certain clearance.
With a good gap between games, it must be a good time for Potter and his staff to work with the squad and get them ready for the challenges ahead. We were beaten by Fulham a few weeks ago at Craven Cottage. The return gives us an opportunity to avenge that and return to winning ways.
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