Chelsea supporters on social media were understandably buzzing after seeing images of N’Golo Kante and Thiago Silva back in training.
Silva and Kante had been isolating after testing positive for covid, meaning they missed the FA Cup mauling of Chesterfield and the Carabao Cup semi-final first-leg victory over Tottenham Hotspur.
Kante and Silva showing up
Although Thomas Tuchel’s men coped pretty well without the absent duo in both matches, their return will be wholly welcomed.
They could both play a part in tonight’s second-leg cup clash in North London, just to compound Antonio Conte’s misery from the reverse fixture even further.
However, with a massive Premier League encounter against Manchester City just over the horizon, Tuchel may just want to save his recovering soldiers for now.
Nonetheless, Chelsea fans couldn’t contain their excitement to see Kante and Silva out on the Cobham pitches once again.
Some even asked for them to feature this evening, feeling no remorse towards Tottenham.
Here’s how they reacted to the re-established stars on Twitter:
Good news.
— ⭑⭑ (@CFCPerikin) January 11, 2022
Just brilliant. pic.twitter.com/fTC1EVWgEm
— Shubham. (@_ShuBhamCFC) January 11, 2022
Let’s goooooo hopefully chalobah comes back soon
— 👑Les Rois👑 (@johnnytest672) January 11, 2022
Spurs won’t know what him them.
— Mike 🦅 (@spairog) January 11, 2022
Just more trouble 4 spurs
— Boateng Richmond (@Boateng51722824) January 11, 2022
Rested for City
Of course, Tuchel could be especially merciless and use Kante and Silva to scythe down Spurs.
Yet, the prospect of losing them ahead of an even more significant tie on the weekend is surely not worth the risk.
Perhaps the safest option would be to hand the duo minutes in the second half, where the tie is hopefully dead and buried.
Having them up to speed with in-game action will be crucial if they are to face City on Saturday.
Let their fellow Blues do the work later today, then they can pick up the pieces in a few days.
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