Graham Potter has been handed several boosts ahead of Chelsea's tie with Southampton in the Premier League. The Blues are set to welcome the Saints to Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon, February 18, as they look to return to winning ways.
While the west Londoners lost to Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League round of 16 first-leg, a number of key players took huge steps towards making their return. Mateo Kovacic, Denis Zakaria and Wesley Fofana all featured on Chelsea bench at the Signal Iduna Park after having nursed their respective injuries.
While the trio didn't feature, they look set to be available to Potter in the coming weeks. And, what better time to be drafted into the Blues lineup when the club are in desperate need of a catalyst to improve performances.
N'Golo Kante
Kante has suffered an injury-ridden campaign thus far but the midfielder has finally returned to the pitches at Cobham, albeit training alone. The Frenchman is getting closer to full fitness but, until he joins the first-team group, a debut under Potter is left to be desired.
In a major boost, Kante has been doing individual work at Cobham since the end of last week, a source has told football.london. He is not yet training with his teammates, however, but that is understood to not be too far away from doing so. football.london understands Chelsea have some hope of Kante returning to team training by the end of the week, or the start of the following week. However, there will be no rush to return him to action too soon. What Potter said:
"N’Golo did his first couple of days out training on his own but there is still a long, long way to go." Injury: Hamstring Expected return date: Late February/Early March
Raheem Sterling
The winger returned to action last week after a period on the sidelines. However, he missed out at the weekend against West Ham after unfortunately sustaining a knock in training this week. He has thus missed training in the build-up to the Dortmund tie. What Potter said:
"We've had a little setback with Raheem [Sterling] he had a little kick in training on the side of his knee, so we're assessing him and he is doubtful for tomorrow." Injury: Knee Expected return date: N/A
Christian Pulisic
Pulisic issued a two-word hint on his Chelsea return date earlier this month as he continues to nurse a knee injury. The 24-year-old came off second best in a collision with John Stones when the Blues locked horns with Manchester City in the Premier League earlier last month. The winger has posted an image of himself from when he limped off the pitch against City. Pulisic simply captioned his post: "Back soon." What Potter said:
"No chance, no, he will be out past that [January transfer deadline] and there was never any consideration about him leaving anyway. He is a couple of months out. "He is disappointed but he is optimistic about coming back quicker than two months. He is in that phase where he is keeping his fingers crossed and hoping his rehab goes well." Injury: Knee Expected return date: March
Edouard Mendy
Chelsea confirmed that Mendy had undergone an operation on a fractured finger sustained during training, meaning he will be absent from the squad in the coming games. The Senegalese shot-stopper was not in the squad to face West Ham nor has he travelled to Germany. Injury: Finger Expected return date: Unknown
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