Huge Boost : Chelsea FC confirm midfielder has returned to training ahead of West Ham trip

Chelsea confirmed that loanee Denis Zakaria has returned to full team training ahead of Saturday’s away match against West Ham United.

 

The 26-year-old, who made five consecutive appearances for the Blues in December and January, has been out for the last month due to a quad injury.

 

His absence, as well as N’Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic, and Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s, forced Graham Potter to rely on Jorginho, academy star Lewis Hall, and more recently Enzo Fernandez in the past four weeks.

 

On Tuesday, Zakaria hinted at his imminent return on social media, and just a day later, he has already joined up his teammates for a team training sessions at Cobham.

 

The good news for the Blues does not end here.

Wesley Fofana, who was also involved in the session, may also be in contention to make the squad for this weekend’s trip to West Ham’s London Stadium.

 

A start remains unlikely for the French defender, however, considering he has been out since the 3-0 win over AC Milan at Stamford Bridge last October.

If Potter is to rest Thiago Silva ahead of the trip to Germany for the Champions League round-of-16 first-leg match against Borussia Dortmund, Trevoh Chalobah should be a more viable option to play alongside Benoit Badiashile in defence.

Aside from these Zakaria and Fofana, Chelsea will also have Joao Felix back in the squad after he served a three-match suspension for a red card on his debut last month.

Felix’s return gives Potter an enviable headache of choosing his front line.

 

Mykhailo Mudryk, who had a cold last week, should be fully fit for the upcoming London derby, while Raheem Sterling is still waiting for his first start since returning from a hamstring injury.

The England international featured for half an hour in last week’s stalemate against Fulham.

January signings Noni Madueke and David Datro Fofana are also yet to make any start in Chelsea blue