Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino has revealed that his squad will be boosted by at least two senior players for Saturday's clash with Fulham.
The Blues return to Premier League action on the back of suffering a surprise 1-0 defeat at the hands of Middlesbrough in the first leg of their EFL Cup semi-final.
Their cause was not helped by having to select an inexperienced substitutes' bench, something of concern for Pochettino who has had to deal with widespread injury issues throughout 2023-24.
However, speaking to reporters at a press conference on Friday, the Argentine revealed that Ben Chilwell and Benoit Badiashile are in line to be selected in the squad for the West London derby.
Chilwell has been absent with a hamstring injury since the EFL Cup encounter with Brighton & Hove Albion on September 27, while Badiashile has not been seen since the win over Crystal Palace on December 27.
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Furthermore, Carney Chukwuemeka is on the brink of returning from a knee injury, but Pochettino admitted that Christopher Nkunku remains out of contention for the foreseeable future with a hip problem.
Speaking to reporters, Pochettino said: "Good news about Chilwell and Benoit, and we need to assess Carney Chukwuemeka to see if he will be available or not.
"But Chilly and Benoit, for sure, will be involved in the squad for tomorrow.
On Nkunku, he added: "Of course, a little bit of a worry with the situation of Nkunku because it is now 10 days that he cannot train. We are assessing him. We do not know what is going to happen.
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"After six months we were waiting for him and we were so close to feeling comfortable, so we are disappointed with that. Of course we are worried, we want him to be involved as soon as possible."
Pochettino also took the opportunity to address the fitness of Trevoh Chalobah, who has not made a single appearance this season and has been heavily linked with a departure.
However, Pochettino said at the media briefing that the defender had stepped up his recovery from a thigh injury by starting to train with the rest of the squad.
Chelsea play host to Fulham with the opportunity to move into seventh place in the Premier League table, but defeat would see 13th-placed Fulham move to within a point.
Darren Plant
