Chelsea have been boosted ahead of this weekend’s trip to Newcastle by the news that United States winger Christian Pulisic has finally returned to training.
The American hasn’t been seen since scoring in Chelsea’s opening game of the season, after which he contracted COVID-19 which kept him out until August’s international break.
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— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) October 28, 2021
Pulisic then went away with his national team, where he picked up an ankle injury that saw him go on to miss Chelsea’s last 11 games in all competitions.
It seems as though that absence is over as the Blues confirmed that Pulisic is finally back in training and he now appears to be in line for a handful of minutes off the bench on Saturday.
With both Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner out injured, Chelsea are somewhat short of numbers in attack, so Pulisic’s return comes at a good time for Thomas Tuchel’s men as they prepare for a hectic winter schedule.
Thursday’s training session saw a few more returning faces, with Cesar Azpilicueta, N’Golo Kante and Andreas Christensen all involved after missing Tuesday’s Carabao Cup victory over Southampton with various injuries.
Azpilicueta picked up a minor shoulder injury and was joined on the sidelines by Kante, who has been dealing with muscle fatigue, and Christensen, who underwent minor tooth surgery in the build-up to the game.
There was, however, no update on Ruben Loftus-Cheek. The midfielder picked up a hip injury in the build-up to the Southampton game and is yet to return to training, suggesting he will miss out against Newcastle.
Chelsea enter Saturday’s game top of the Premier League table and they will be hoping for another victory against a Newcastle side still finding their feet after sacking Steve Bruce as manager.