N'Golo Kante is slowly closing in on a return to action, but the French midfielder seems unlikely to feature when Chelsea travel to Austria to take on RB Salzburg on Wednesday evening.
Kante missed the opening matches of Frank Lampard's reign in Ireland and left the pre-season tour of Japan early after suffering the recurrence of a knee injury first sustained before the Europa League Final in Baku in May.
The 28-year-old also sat out the thrilling 4-3 win at Reading on Sunday despite returning to training, with Lampard stating afterwards that he hopes for Kante to be back involved fully at Cobham next week, potentially in time to be ready for the Premier League opener against Manchester United on August 11.
Callum Hudson-Odoi is ahead of schedule in his recovery from an Achilles tendon rupture, though fellow academy graduate Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Achilles) and centre-back Antonio Rudiger (knee) seem some way off a return.
Reece James underwent surgery to repair an ankle ligament injury earlier this month, while Willian missed Brazil's Copa America Final victory over Peru with a hamstring problem.
Fikayo Tomori did play at Reading, but is expected to be allowed to leave on loan soon, with Everton among the clubs interested in his services.
Lampard made 10 changes at half-time in Berkshire and his starting XI against reigning Austrian champions RB Salzburg could be a mix of those first-half and second-half teams, with Kepa Arrizabalaga returning and Mason Mount likely to further stake his claim for a regular starting berth.
Ross Barkley has been in excellent form of late as he looks to help fill the sizable void left by Eden Hazard's move to Real Madrid.
Salzburg may have a key fitness advantage over their opponents, having already begun their league season with a 2-0 win over Rapid Vienna.
RB Salzburg vs Chelsea predicted lineups
RB Salzburg XI: Stankovic, Ulmer, Farkas, Ramalho, Onguene, Junuzovic, Bernede, Szoboszlai, Minamino, Daka, Haland
Chelsea XI: Kepa, Azpilicueta, Christensen, David Luiz, Alonso, Jorginho, Kovacic, Mount, Barkley, Pulisic, Giroud
