Chelsea's new £115million signing Moises Caicedo is optimistic the knee injury he suffered on Ecuador duty is not serious and that he will be fit to face Aston Villa on Sunday.
In what would be a major boost for Chelsea as they bid to kickstart their stuttering season, the midfielder is expected to return against Villa at Stamford Bridge.
Caicedo missed Sunday’s 0-0 draw at Bournemouth as a precaution after feeling some discomfort in his knee.
But Chelsea are set to be without Romeo Lavia for at least another month after the £58m signing twisted his ankle in training.
Lavia is yet to play since his summer move from Southampton and will not return before the October international break.
Chelsea were without 12 first-team players against Bournemouth but Noni Madueke and Marc Cucurella are also pushing to return against Villa.
Armando Broja and Benoit Badiashile are both pushing to make comebacks and could soon be eased in from the bench, with their returns seen as increasingly imminent.
Broja has been out since December after knee surgery, while Badiashile has been sidelined since May after hamstring surgery.
Reece James and Carney Chukwuemeka are both doing solo training sessions with ball work. They will slowly be re-introduced into Mauricio Pochettino’s training sessions and are hopeful of a return in the coming weeks.
Trevoh Chalobah is slightly behind James and Chukwuemeka in his recovery process, having also suffered a hamstring injury in the same training session as James last month.
Christopher Nkunku and Wesley Fofana remain out longer term. Nkunku hopes to return in December but Fofana could be out for the season after knee surgery.
