Chelsea defender Thiago Silva may have dropped a hint about starting for the Blues against Malmo on Wednesday night.
The 37-year-old missed out on Saturday’s tense 1-0 win over Brentford due to international commitments, with his Brazil side playing at 3:30am (BST) the day before the match.
The return of Silva will be a boost for Thomas Tuchel, who was also without Antonio Rudiger on Saturday and relied on a back three of Andreas Christensen, Trevoh Chalobah and Malang Sarr to see them through the game.
The Blues just about managed to keep a clean sheet, but that was largely thanks to the heroics of goalkeeper Edouard Mendy between the sticks.
Speaking last Friday about Silva’s availability, Tuchel said: “"Thiago will be back in the afternoon, hopefully safe from his match in Brazil.
"We had our talk today about Brentford, had our tactical training today, and he missed all that.
"He played 90 minutes and he has 12 hours of travelling, so that is the answer maybe about his availability."
So as the Blues look to put the defeat to Juventus behind them in the Champions League, could Silva be set for a return to the team?
His social media may suggest so…
As seen on Instagram, Silva posted several pictures from training ahead of the game as well as a pre-match hype graphic ahead of the clash at Stamford Bridge.
However, it should be added that he may not start, as Tuchel could decide to rotate his squad for the match.
Pick your Chelsea team against Malmo
Malmo currently sit bottom of the group and with a Premier League clash against Norwich and then Southampton in the Carabao Cup on the horizon, the Blues could make some changes.
If Silva returns, he could slot straight back into the back three, however the manager could stick with the same backline that earned all three points on Saturday.
