Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has claimed that Benoit Badiashile is not quite ready yet to return to first team action at Stamford Bridge.
He said in his official press conference that the Frenchman is going to have to wait until after the upcoming international break.
Badiashile is yet to get his Chelsea career under the new manager underway after an injury he suffered in training late last season.
The issue came at the worst possible time for the young defender, who had just begun to nail down a regular spot in the squad under Frank Lampard.
With him not in the Champions League squad last season, he was very rarely selected as the club looked to get a satisfied squad ready to take on the likes of Real Madrid.
Pochettino says Badiashile still out
This is despite him coming in for around £35m back in January, and impressing whenever he was given the chance.
While he has been forced to watch from the side, he has seen Levi Colwill take to the pitch in his role and impress instantly, creating a mouthwatering battle between those two for gametime.
Pochettino has said that will have to wait though until at least after the international break, as well as the return of striker Armando Broja.
He said: “Tomorrow? No [Badiashile and Broja]. We need to wait until after the international break and we will see. Maybe he is closer, but still we need to assess day by day [Mudryk].”
With Wesley Fofana sidelined for some time, the Blues could do with Badiashile returning instantly as they look to bring back some competition for places in the new-look system.
Receive a digest of our best Chelsea content each week direct to your mailbox
