Chelsea strode comfortably to victory on their Premier League return as Kai Havertz and Mason Mount were both on target against Bournemouth in a 2-0 win .
Havertz slid home a delightful Raheem Sterling cross after 16 minutes before Mount then doubled the Blues' lead eight minutes later receiving Havertz's pass on the edge of the box before guiding a superb effort beyond Mark Travers.
However, it is not all positives for Graham Potter, with Chelsea possibly facing a number of injury worries particularly involving Reece James and Thiago Silva. With that said here's a look at the latest Chelsea injury news and return dates after their clash against West Ham.
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Reece James
Many Chelsea fans were eagerly anticipating the return of Reece James and for the first 45 minutes he showed exactly why they have missed him. Although he did not directly contribute to either of the Blues' two first half goals, James did not look out of place on his first start in nearly three months, giving Chelsea solidity and balance at right back.
However, his second half action was limited after he went down with an injury in the 53rd minute appearing to be in tears as he held his leg. The 23-year-old went straight down the tunnel after trudging off the field and was replaced by Cesar Azpilicueta.
After the game on Amazon Prime Video when asked for a diagnosis, Graham Potter said: "Not too much, we're going to have to see in the next 24 to 48 hours but disappointing to lose him as quickly as we did."
Return date - Unknown
Thiago Silva
Inside just five minutes of the clash with Bournemouth, Thiago Silva looked set to be an early withdrawal through injury. The Brazilian was limping around the pitch for several minutes with Trevoh Chalobah even warming up, which seemed to suggest a substitution was imminent.
However, the 38-year-old stayed on the pitch for the remainder of the first half seemingly running off the injury which would suggest it was an impact problem as opposed to muscular.
Silva could be seen receiving some spray to his knee before the second half commenced but he was unbothered by the issue for the remainder of the game, playing the full 90 minutes.
Return date: Available for Nottingham Forest (A) Jan 1, 2023
Edouard Mendy
The big team selection decision for Graham Potter seemed to be involving who he started in goal, with Kepa Arrizabalaga and Edouard Mendy both available. Kepa had been Potter's first choice since his arrival but Mendy was the man deployed before the World Cup with the Spaniard out injured, however Potter revealed in his pre-match press conference Mendy had only had a "couple of days training."
Despite the few training sessions, Kepa was preferred to Mendy with the Senegalese international missing from the whole matchday squad as Marcus Bettinelli was instead the goalkeeper on the bench.
Mendy could be available for Chelsea's next game assuming he can get through the next few training sessions but a short turnaround for their clash with Nottingham Forest on New Years Day could see him miss out again.
Return date: Available for Man City (H) Jan 5, 2023
N'golo Kante
Chelsea star N'golo Kante underwent surgery on a hamstring injury suffered in the Blues' second Premier League outing of the season against Tottenham.
The Frenchman is yet to resume training and while an injury timeline was set with Graham Potter hopeful he would be back in February, that no longer looks to be the case.
Ahead of the clash with Bournemouth, Potter said: "He's a while. He'll be end of February, start of March."
Return date: Unknown, possibly available for Leeds (H) Mar 4, 2023
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