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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Samuel Meade

Chelsea receive triple injury boost ahead of second leg vs Borussia Dortmund

Chelsea will welcome Reece James, Christian Pulisic and N'Golo Kante back for the visit of Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday night.

The Blues are aiming to overturn a Champions League deficit in their last 16 clash having lost 1-0 in Germany several weeks ago. Graham Potter has a host of options available to him, such is the investment made in the squad, but the likes of James would be considered starters at Stamford Bridge.

The Englishman, as well as Pulisic and Kante, all took part in the training session at the club's Cobham-base on Monday, reports the Athletic. James, who's been nursing a hamstring issue, has excelled as a wing-back during his time at Chelsea and would provide a welcome boost whilst also offering Potter more flexibility with his system.

The Blues boss has said: "Ben and Reece have been unavailable for a long time so we had to find different solutions but clearly, those are roles that they're comfortable in and brings out their quality, so it is something for us to go forward with."

There has been a lack of consistency in the Chelsea line-up, largely down to the amount of players available in west London as well as Potter's desire to find a winning system amid a poor run of form. The Blues prepared for their European encounter with a win over Leeds at the weekend.

Europe represents Chelsea's only opportunity of silverware, whilst Champions League success could yet prove their most realistic route into next season's competition such is the gap between them and the top four in the Premier League. Potter has been under constant pressure but believes things are starting to click.

He added: "Obviously it hasn't been as straightforward as it sounds because we've had people dropping off [with injury] almost regularly really which has made it hard to have that consistency that you need and we want. But in the meantime, we have to keep working, which is what we've done, but we had a nice balance about us. It was better in terms of attacking, certainly in the first half against Leeds."

Chelsea will need to be wary of the threat posed by Dortmund, who are also in the hunt for the Bundesliga title. They were hit by a stunning Karim Adeyami effort in the first-leg as the English side's troubles in front of goal continued. They haven't scored twice in a game since the turn of the year but summer signing Raheem Sterling has been backed to come good in Europe after what has been a difficult season.

"Raheem’s goalscoring record in the Champions League speaks for itself,’ Potter added. "He's an experienced, proven campaigner in that competition and we're looking forward to having him on the pitch on Tuesday, hopefully enjoying his football and contributing to us winning and going through."

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