Kovacic makes his return...
It became apparent during Chelsea's pre-season tour of the United States that the Croatian midfielder was not fully fit. In Las Vegas, he trained away from the rest of the first-team squad and was also pictured with his knee strapped up despite featuring in the Blues' pre-season friendlies.
Come the opening game of the Premier League campaign – Everton, away – Kovacic was among the substitutes and was introduced in the second period. However, ahead of the match against Tottenham, Tuchel confirmed the midfielder wasn't ready to feature.
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"He has issues with his knee, always a little bit of a reaction," the Chelsea head coach said. "We decided to take a step back and increase treatment time to reduce the stress that comes from training to have a normal reaction before we start again."
Kovacic missed the draw with Spurs and the weekend defeat to Leeds United, but Chelsea were given a boost this afternoon as the 28-year-old took part in the opening training session at Stamford Bridge.
But five players absent
Ahead of this afternoon's workout, the absence of N'Golo Kante was expected; the Frenchman is currently ruled out with a muscle injury sustained against Tottenham and is set for a few weeks on the sidelines once again.
There was no Emerson Palmieri – who is set to join West Ham – and Marcos Alonso also didn't train as he continues to wait on a move to Barcelona, although the La Liga giants haven't yet submitted a formal offer to Chelsea for the Spanish international.
One surprise absentee was Callum Hudson-Odoi. football.london understands the winger is hoping to leave Chelsea on loan before the transfer window closes, but he has continued to train with the first team and was included in the matchday squad for the defeat to Leeds on Sunday.
The other forward missing was Armando Broja. The academy graduate's future remains the subject of speculation, with Everton interested in taking the Albania international on loan. However, Broja didn't feature as he is still recovering from the knock that forced him to miss Leeds.
Koulibaly and Silva step away
Prior to the training session getting underway on the Stamford Bridge pitch, every player in attendance was introduced to the crowd. There were loud cheers for the likes of Reece James and Mason Mount, while the new additions of Marc Cucurella, Kalidou Koulibaly and Raheem Sterling were also well received.
Once the players began their drills, however, Koulibaly stepped away. The Senegal international initially took a seat in the home dugout before making his way down the tunnel. And he was joined a little while later in the home dressing room by Thiago Silva.
Chelsea's first-choice centre-back undertook the opening 40 minutes of the session but opted to step away prior to the small possession drill undertaken in front of the Matthew Harding Stand. It left Trevoh Chalobah and Ethan Ampadu as the only out-and-out central defenders involved.
Ziyech and Sterling do their extras
It was around an hour after the session began that there was a lull in proceedings. The majority of the players opted to take a break and sat down on the pitch. But Sterling and Hakim Ziyech decided to continue the shooting drills with the help of assistant coach Anthony Barry and Kepa Arrizabalaga.
The duo took it in turns to fire the ball toward the Spanish goalkeeper, who produced a number of impressive stops. Yet there was a couple of fine finishes produced from both Sterling and Ziyech, the latter of whom is understood to have held a meeting with Ajax over the weekend about a potential move to Amsterdam.
Tuchel's goodbye message
After the session came to a close, Thomas Tuchel delivered a message to those who had made the journey to Stamford Bridge.
"It's always a pleasure to train in the stadium, so thanks for coming. It was a light training session because two days ago we played. So hopefully, we made it enjoyable for you, and thanks for coming," the Chelsea head coach said.
"Especially after a disappointing result, you want to play the next day. We want to turn things around, but we have to wait for Saturday. We will use the time to improve, adjust and be ready for Saturday."
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