By the time Chelsea line up against Crystal Palace at the start of October, Graham Potter will have manager for more than three weeks - but only managed one game. Whether that is to be a blessing or not will have to wait. The new man in charge has been given valuable time to work closely with his players but hasn't had the games to decipher how things might work out on the pitch.
This makes the impending transfer window a strange period. Potter is still very much getting used to the Cobham surroundings but won't have the bulk of his players left over to work on specific tactical instructions but he will have some time to himself to make key decisions.
The only fit first team players not away with their nations are Kepa, Marcus Bettinelli, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Trevoh Chalobah, hardly enough to do much XI-a-side practice.
