Graham Potter has welcomed Mason Mount, Conor Gallagher, Raheem Sterling and Thiago Silva back to Chelsea training in the build-up to the Blues' Premier League return against Bournemouth. The group are the latest players to return from the World Cup having being knocked out in the quarter-finals of the tournament against France and Croatia respectively.
Chelsea's stars have all been given around one week off following their contributions in Qatar with the latest cohort returning on Sunday morning, with those knocked out earlier in the tournament returning to Cobham following Chelsea's trip to Abu Dhabi. The training camp in the UAE saw the Blues defeated 1-0 by Aston Villa, with a few first team stars supplemented by a number of development squad players.
Potter's side have a further friendly to play behind closed doors against Brentford in the build up to domestic football returning. The 47-year-old coach will be relieved to see greater numbers in training over the last week with Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Armando Broja and N'Golo Kante still injured, while Ben Chilwell, Wesley Fofana and Reece James continued their build to full fitness.
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The Chelsea boss now only awaits the return of Hakim Ziyech and Mateo Kovacic who faced off in the World Cup third place play-off on Saturday. The Croatian was able to end the tournament on a high, as Kovacic helped his team to to a 2-1 win, as both side's brought an end to their impressive campaigns.
The duo being the latest to return to club duties is not what was expected by their teammates, as Kovacic and Ziyech suffered jokes from their Chelsea colleagues ahead of the tournament. It was clear ahead of the game that they appreciated their progress.
"I am very glad Morocco made it this far, they are a great team,” Kovacic told reporters. “I have been in touch with Ziyech before and during this World Cup.
“All of the others joked that Ziyech and me would come home first... and here we are almost at the end of the World Cup. Both of us are very proud of what our national teams have achieved.”
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