Carney Chukwuemeka took part in his final Chelsea training session of the season before joining up with the England Under-20s World Cup squad. The 19-year-old midfielder has struggled for game time since swapping Villa Park for Stamford Bridge in the summer, having only played a total of 241 minutes.
Despite that, his absence from the Blues squad to face Nottingham Forest on Saturday afternoon comes as a blow. Frank Lampard will also be without Mason Mount, Reece James and Ben Chilwell against Steve Cooper's side, so the west Londoners have been working hard at Cobham.
Ahead of the tie, the Chelsea caretaker boss revealed how it felt to be training off the back of a win. The Blues picked up a 3-1 over Bournemouth last weekend – the first of Lampard's interim tenure.
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"It's a boost. It's a nice feeling," said Lampard. "The players have to strive for that feeling again. That's what builds winning teams and at the moment we are obviously in some form of a building process because of the difficulty of the season, so it was a small step forward."
So, with that being said, football.london has taken a look at the four most interesting things spotted in Chelsea training at Cobham.
Hall raring to go
Lewis Hall was pictured in the thick of the action ahead of a potential start against Forest. The 18-year-old has already featured five times for the Blues in the Premier League this season, primarily operating as a left wing-back. Now, he looks primed for another chance to impress.
Koulibaly back in action
Kalidou Koulibaly could make a surprise return to the Chelsea starting line-up this weekend. After a lung-busting run against Real Madrid last month to deny Rodrygo a goalscoring opportunity, the defender pulled up clutching his hamstring.
He seems to have recovered from his knock now, though it could be difficult to leapfrog Benoit Badiashile or Thiago Silva, let alone Wesley Fofana.
Chukwuemeka farewell
As already mentioned, Chukwuemeka took part in his final training session at Cobham this season before leaving for international duty. Many Chelsea supporters strongly believed that the midfielder deserved a chance to impress before the end of the campaign, but they'll have to wait until pre-season.
Gallagher hint
Conor Gallagher could be lined up for another start, according to our 'bib theory'. The midfielder was the only Chelsea player to be seen wearing a red bib in training, suggesting that he was the 'magic man' – somebody who plays both teams in a rondo depending on who is in possession.
By including a 'magic man', the players are taught how to move and create space for themselves and other teammates. In what looked to be a small-sided game, Gallagher could have been the 'magic man', meaning that a start in a central midfield position may be on the cards.
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