Chelsea will be desperate to get back to winning ways as soon as possible following Saturday's 3-2 defeat at the hands of London rivals West Ham in the Premier League.
Thiago Silva and Mason Mount twice fired Thomas Tuchel's side in front during the game only for a Manuel Lanzini penalty, a smart Jarrod Bowen finish and a bizarre Arthur Masuaku strike to give the Hammers all three points.
There was further cause for frustration on the touch line too as both Kai Havertz and Marcos Alonso were forced off through injury, adding to a growing list of fitness concerns.
Mateo Kovacic, Ben Chilwell and N'Golo Kante have all missed matches of late with different ailments and the last thing Tuchel will want is more knocks.
"Kai has huge pain, Marcos Alonso has back pain, so that is another two substitutes due to injury. We have to deal with it," he told his post-match press conference on Saturday.
However, a double boost on the injury front appears to have come the manager's way.
football.london understands that the injury that forced Havertz off at the London Stadium is not as serious as first thoughts and the 22-year-old even has a chance of making the squad for the Champions League clash with Zenit St. Petersburg on Wednesday.
The news followed on from a report in The Times that revealed Kovacic will be in contention to play against Leeds in the Premier League this coming Saturday.
The 27-year-old has missed the Blues' last eight matches in all competitions after picking up a hamstring injury in training at the end of October.
But that spell on the sidelines appears to be coming to a close and, having scored once and assisted five more goals at the start of the season, the fans will be delighted to see him return too.
