Chelsea have been handed a significant boost ahead of their New Year's Day Premier League fixture against Nottingham Forest with both Mateo Kovacic and Hakim Ziyech returning to training at Cobham this morning.
The two players were in action throughout the World Cup for Croatia and Morocco respectively and featured in the third-place play-off between the two countries, which was won 2-1 by Croatia just eleven days ago.
Kovacic and Ziyech were subsequently given time off to relax and recharge– as was the case with every Chelsea player who represented their countries at the tournament in Qatar. But it meant the pair weren't in contention to face Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge yesterday.
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Chelsea overcame the Cherries 2-0 thanks to goals from Kai Havertz and Mason Mount. The focus now shifts to the trip to 19th-place Nottingham Forest on Sunday and both Kovacic and Ziyech are expected to be in contention to make their returns to Graham Potter's squad.
Also out on the grass at Cobham this morning were Ben Chilwell and Ruben Loftus-Cheek. The former has been absent since the end of October with a hamstring injury sustained against Dinamo Zagreb while the latter has been sidelined since the defeat to Newcastle United with a thigh problem.
The two England internationals have continued their recoveries during the World Cup break and there is hope they will be ready to make a first-team return in the coming weeks.
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