Reece James and Cole Palmer are injury doubts for Chelsea ahead of their clash with Arsenal at the weekend.
Football.London report that it’s still too early to tell whether Reece James will be fit to face Arsenal in Chelsea’s first game after the international break.
The right-back hasn’t played since the opening game of the season, due to a hamstring injury, but he’s progressing well with his recovery.
He may still end up being available this weekend, with The Athletic claiming he’s expected to return, but there are no guarantees yet.
On the upside for Chelsea, Malo Gusto will be returning from suspension for the Arsenal match.
Football.London add that Benoit Badiashile is also progressing well and nearing a comeback, but again it’s too soon to know if he’ll be fit for Arsenal.
Elsewhere in the team, Cole Palmer is now a doubt to face Arsenal after picking up an injury on international duty.
Palmer was playing for the England u21s, but he was withdrawn in the second half of their win over Serbia with a thigh injury and has been ruled out of the rest of the break.
England u21 boss Lee Carsley seemed pretty optimistic about the injury.
“I think Cole would be fine,” Carsley said. “But we don’t take any chances with any of the players.
“If there is a slight doubt that they’re going to miss a game at the weekend, we get them back to the clubs as quickly as we can.
“We could’ve kept Cole here another day and see how it was, but we didn’t think it was right.”
Chelsea are missing a number of other players to long-term injuries, including Wesley Fofana, Christopher Nkunku, Ben Chilwell, and Romeo Lavia, none of whom will be available against Arsenal.