Kai Havertz has handed Chelsea an injury boost by returning to training ahead of their Champions League game against Zenit St Petersburg on Wednesday.
Havertz limped off during Saturday’s 3-2 defeat at West Ham but trained with the Chelsea squad on Tuesday before they were due to fly out to Russia.
Mateo Kovacic is closing in on a return to action after missing eight games with a hamstring injury, but Chelsea have confirmed the midfielder is not travelling to Zenit after testing positive for Covid.
Trevoh Chalobah and N’Golo Kante are also out of the Zenit game, while Ben Chilwell is a long-term absentee.
A decision is still to be made on whether Chilwell will undergo an operation after suffering knee ligament damage.
Romelu Lukaku is available after an ankle injury but manager Thomas Tuchel confirmed over the weekend that the Belgium forward is still some way short of match fitness and not yet ready to play a full 90 minutes.
Chelsea travel to Russia hoping to seal top spot in Group H. A victory against Zenit would do that, as would matching Juventus’s result at home to Malmo.
