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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Tom Doyle

Chelsea vs Ajax: Injury boost for Frank Lampard as three stars return to training

Chelsea have confirmed that N'Golo Kante, Ross Barkley and Andreas Christensen took part in the Blues' final training session before Tuesday Champions League clash against Ajax.

The return of the trio suggests that they could all play some part in the Stamford Bridge clash considering Frank Lampard's approach to reintegrating injured players.

Lampard told reporters on Monday: "We've been able to get some work into him, he's in the squad and he's available."

The manager suggested on Friday that players are only welcomed back to his first-team training sessions if they are ready to play.

(Action Images via Reuters)

"I'm quite big that the players come back into training at the level that they left so they’re then ready to play games, because they can’t just walk straight back in after injuries. There has to be some progression."

Kante has struggled with injuries this season, and last featured for the Blues in the -1 win at Southampton on October 6.

Barkley has been out of action since limping off against Newcastle before the international break, while Christensen last featured in Denmark's win over Switzerland on 12 October.

However, Antonio Rudiger is still out of action and was not involved in training on Monday, instead seeing a consultant regarding his groin injury.

The injury boost comes at an opportune time for Lampard, with Chelsea currently top of Group H after beating Ajax in Amsterdam on matchday 3.

The Dutch giants visit west London for matchday four, and while Chelsea will be hoping for another win, a defeat could potentially leave them outside the top two heading into matchday five.

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