Chelsea dropped points for the third time this season with Tuesday's 2-1 defeat at Southampton in the Premier League, as the Blues surrendered their lead to come away from the south coast with nothing.
The Blues suffered a huge blow before the game when Reece James and Trevoh Chalobah were ruled out, while midfielder Conor Gallagher served his one match suspension. However, Thomas Tuchel will see a return for the trio as West Ham visit Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Here is all you need to know about the current state of play at Stamford Bridge and the expected return dates for those on the sidelines.
Reece James
The Chelsea right-back was a surprise omission from Tuesday’s squad that travelled to face Southampton, before it was revealed he was struggling with illness and was left out as a precaution for the trip to St Mary’s.
James had played every minute of Chelsea’s first four games of the season but picked up a virus following the 2-1 victory over Leicester on Saturday. However, Tuchel has since confirmed that he has returned to training and will once again be available for selection ahead of this weekend’s visit of West Ham.
Speaking on Friday, Tuchel said that James was "back in training and available".
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Trevoh Chalobah
Fellow Blues defender Chalobah was also omitted from the squad which travelled to Southampton after picking up an injury in the 2-1 victory over Leicester last weekend, having made his first start of the campaign in place of the suspended Kalidou Koulibaly.
It has been revealed that Chalobah was struggling with a knee problem from that Stamford Bridge clash with the Foxes, although the severity is unclear. However, he has since returned to training and is expected to return to the matchday squad heading into Saturday’s London derby with West Ham.
Speaking on Tuesday, Tuchel said: “Trevoh Chalobah is injured, a problem from the match [vs Leicester]. So, with N’Golo Kante and some other players [missing], it’s a tight squad.”
Ruben Loftus-Cheek
Chelsea midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek has had a turnaround in fortunes at Stamford Bridge this season after starting in four of the first five games of the campaign.
But the 26-year-old was hauled off at half-time in the 2-1 defeat at Southampton in what many assumed was a tactical change. Mateo Kovacic replaced the Englishman and it soon emerged it was in fact an enforced change.
With the game live on television, images quickly appeared of Loftus-Cheek with some strapping around his knee and BT Sport confirmed soon after that the midfielder had picked up a hamstring injury, although Tuchel confirmed on Friday that the midfielder is "back in training and available".
N’Golo Kante
Chelsea’s midfielder continues to recover from the hamstring injury which he picked up during the second fixture of the season against Tottenham on August 14, where he was forced off through injury with five minutes to go in the 2-2 draw.
Kante required on-field treatment from Chelsea’s physio before he was eventually helped off after being unable to continue. He has missed the last three fixtures for the Blues and is expected to remain out for a further month, until at least the start of October.
Speaking on August 26, Tuchel said: "With N'Golo, we are talking about weeks. We are talking about four weeks plus."
