Chelsea look set to have Estevao Willian back for Wednesday’s high-profile clash with Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
The teenage Brazilian forward was a surprise absentee for Saturday’s dramatic 2-2 west London derby draw with Brentford in the Premier League, with manager Enzo Maresca revealing that he was suffering with an illness.
Estevao had been considered a potential doubt for that match anyway along with Moises Caicedo, Joao Pedro and Andrey Santos, all of whom went on international duty in South America during the recent break and played at high altitude before returning late in the week.
Caicedo and Joao Pedro ended up both starting against Brentford and playing 90 and 80 minutes respectively, while Andrey Santos was an unused substitute as Estevao missed out entirely.
That should change in Bavaria on Wednesday though after Estevao was seen back during the portion of open training held at Cobham on Tuesday ahead of Chelsea’s flight to Munich.
The likes of Joao Pedro and Cole Palmer were also involved, the latter having returned from a groin injury with a goalscoring cameo off the bench in the second half against Brentford. Palmer should make his first start since the opening day of the season against Bayern.
It was reported by BBC Sport that Romeo Lavia and Benoit Badiashile both took some part in Tuesday’s training as they close in on their respective returns. Neither player has featured at all so far due to injury and it seems unlikely they will be involved against Bayern.
Chelsea remain without Liam Delap, with the striker expected to miss up to 12 weeks with a hamstring injury suffered against Fulham last month.
Dario Essugo may not return until 2026 after undergoing recent thigh surgery, while Levi Colwill is expected to miss the majority of the season after an operation on an anterior cruciate ligament injury. Mykhailo Mudryk remains unavailable.
Maresca attracted criticism in some quarters for opting to rotate his Chelsea team against Brentford with one eye on Munich and resting the likes of Marc Cucurella and Reece James, with Wesley Fofana playing only 45 minutes out of position at right-back amid starts for the likes of summer signings Jorrel Hato, Jamie Gittens and Facundo Buonanotte.
James, Cucurella and Tyrique George all came on at half-time at the Gtech Community Stadium with Chelsea trailing, while Palmer and debutant Alejandro Garnacho were introduced later.
Maresca will give a further update on Chelsea’s latest team news at his pre-Bayern press conference in Munich on Tuesday evening, though there has now been confirmation of Brighton loanee Buonanotte’s addition to their Champions League squad following the injury to Essugo, who has been withdrawn for the league phase.
