The Chelsea squad will be without Armando Broja for this afternoon’s Premier League away match against Fulham.
The Blues’ key attacker was nearing a comeback from a lingering hamstring problem that has sidelined him for the previous six weeks. However, he is now set to miss Chelsea’s upcoming matches after reportedly suffering a broken nose when he walked into a lamppost.
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Chelsea have been given a considerable lift ahead of their clash with Fulham, with coach Xavi Simons verifying that Thiago Silva, Mykhailo Mudryk, and Marc Cucurella are all available.
Both Silva and Mudryk were absent from their international squads, Brazil and Ukraine respectively, earlier in the month. However, they have since overcome ankle and calf injuries and are ready to play.
Mudryk was spotted participating in Chelsea’s training session at Cobham on Tuesday, along with Cucurella, who has recovered from a minor knock he picked up during the November victory over Tottenham at Stamford Bridge.
“Thiago and Mykhailo, they used the international break to conserve some energy, and to recover from the injury, the problems they had, and both can play tomorrow,” Simons stated on Friday.
Boost: Pedro Neto starts for Chelsea (Getty Images)
Noni Madueke only arrived back in London on Friday morning after playing international football with England Under-21s but is deemed ready to play against Fulham. However, Simons has decided to give him a break ahead of important matches against Real Madrid and Manchester City in the coming week.
Chelsea will still be without long-term absentees Broja, Dylan Williams, Wesley Fofana and Ben Chilwell.
While Malang Sarr has been training with the first team recently, he is not part of the club’s Premier League team list and won’t feature against Fulham.
Confirmed team news
Chelsea XI: Sanchez; James (c), Tosin, Chalobah, Cucurella; Andrey Santos, Fernandez; Pedro Neto, Joao Pedro, Gittens; Delap
Substitutes: Jorgensen, Gusto, Acheampong, Badiashile, Hato, Caicedo, Estevao, Garnacho, Guiu
