Mason Mount reintroduced himself to the Chelsea squad by teasing Kai Havertz in a training exercise.
The club’s cameras captured Mount allowing the ball to go out of play in a small-sided game as the team prepared for their Club World Cup semi-final against Al Hilal, which clearly got a reaction out of his co-workers.
‘Wow Mase,’ are the cries heard from Timo Werner, before Havertz throws his bib at the England international.
Happy to see Mount
Although the players might disapprove of the midfielder’s cheeky antics, they will certainly be grateful to have him back with the group.
There were some doubts whether Mount would be available for the fixture tomorrow evening, after he was removed against Plymouth Argyle with a small injury.
However, after missing the first round of light training in Abu Dhabi, the 23-year-old returned to practice ahead of Wednesday’s match.
Fortunately for Chelsea, they can probably afford to give Mount an extra day recovery, due to their strength in attacking areas.
Any one of Hakim Ziyech, Romelu Lukaku, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Christian Pulisic, Havertz or Werner could occupy his place.
Yet, few of these forwards have matched the Cobham academy product for consistency this season, therefore Thomas Tuchel will probably want him involved at some point versus Al Hilal.
Just too soon for James
One player who won’t feature is Reece James.
James travelled with his colleagues to the United Arab Emirates, despite still overcoming the hamstring problem he suffered at the end of December.
The defender was not included in Chelsea’s 23-man roster for the Club World Cup, although Africa Cup of Nations hero Edouard Mendy did make the cut.
Tuchel will be another absentee for the clash with Al Hilal, as he continues his covid isolation period.
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