N’Golo Kante stepped up his return from injury by playing in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Charlton.
The Chelsea midfielder has endured a nightmare 12 months through a mixture of injuries and underwent surgery on a hamstring problem back in October.
That has deprived Blues manager Graham Potter from being able to call on the World Cup winner during his tenure, though Kante did return to the matchday squad for the draw with Everton before the international break.
Kante was handed an hour during the win over Chelsea’s London rivals, with the club’s development team emerging 3-0 victors following goals from Silko Thomas, Malik Mothersille and Dion Rankin.
Potter’s side welcome Aston Villa to Stamford Bridge after the international break before meeting Liverpool and Wolves during a busy week of action.
Then, they face a date with destiny in the Champions League with a difficult-looking quarter-final against Real Madrid as the intense schedule continues.
