Five Chelsea players were not involved in Monday’s preparation ahead of Tuesday’s second leg match against Borussia Dortmund, but three could make injury returns.
The Blues confirmed that Reece James, N’Golo Kante, and Christian Pulisic took part in full training on Monday morning.
Kante and Pulisic have yet to feature since recovering from long-term injuries, while James missed the weekend’s win over Leeds United due to a tight hamstring.
It remains unclear whether Kante and Pulisic would be ready to be in the starting line-up, but having them as options on the bench could prove important in Chelsea’s mission to turn around the 1-0 first-leg defeat.
Chelsea will be without a few key players, too, unfortunately.
Thiago Silva and Mason Mount were said to miss the training due to injuries. Bear in mind that the latter is suspended for the second leg, anyway.
Aside from these two, Cesar Azpilicueta, who recently sustained a head injury, and two long-term absentees Armando Broja and Edouard Mendy were also absent in the training session.
Similarly, Dortmund will likely miss a few key players.
Their first-choice striker Youssoufa Moukoko remains out, while first-leg heroes Karim Adeyemi and Gregor Kobel are expected to miss Tuesday’s match.
Update: Kobel made Dortmund’s travelling squad to London despite the uncertainty over his availability after sustaining a thigh injury at the weekend, but Moukoko and Adeyemi are out.
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