Chelsea are reportedly hopeful of having Moises Caicedo and Noni Madueke available for Sunday's Premier League fixture against Aston Villa.
The Blues have endured an indifferent start to the new campaign, collecting just five points from as many matches in the Premier League.
On Sunday, Mauricio Pochettino's side were held to a goalless draw against Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium, both teams squandering openings on the South Coast.
After the game, the Argentine acknowledged his frustration at having to use a depleted squad, Chelsea having an array of youngsters on the substitutes' bench that had not represented the first team.
In total, Chelsea were missing as many as 11 players who may have come into consideration for selection, including Caicedo and Madueke.
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Caicedo - the most expensive signing in British football history - had been hoping to make just his third start since completing the switch from Brighton & Hove Albion.
However, the midfielder returned from international duty with Ecuador carrying an issue with his knee, resulting in Chelsea taking no risks with his fitness.
Meanwhile, Madueke, who has struggled to put together a run of appearances for Chelsea since his arrival in January, sustained a muscle issue while representing England Under Under-21s.
Since moving to Stamford Bridge from PSV Eindhoven at the start of the year, Madueke has contributed just two goals from 15 appearances, accumulating a total of 769 minutes across those games.
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Nevertheless, according to the Daily Mail, Chelsea are optimistic that both players will come back into the fold for what already feels like an important fixture against Villa.
The report suggests that their respective absences from the Bournemouth encounter were precautionary and that they will be in contention to start versus the West Midlands outfit.
Chelsea will still remain without a wide array of players, however, with Marc Cucurella seemingly the only other player to have a chance of returning to the squad after a fever.
While the report indicates that Armando Broja is preparing to represent the Under-21s after not playing since a serious knee injury in December, the Albania international is not ready to challenge Nicolas Jackson for a starting spot in the senior ranks.
Darren Plant
