Chelsea: Pundit discusses N’Golo Kante's transfer options
Chelsea return to Premier League action against Aston Villa this weekend, three months since their last top-flight clash. The coronavirus crisis has caused the entire season to be put on hold, meaning Frank Lampard's men have not played since their 4-0 win over Everton on March 8.
Chelsea's victory against the Toffees was even more impressive considering the Blues were in the midst of an injury crisis with a host of senior players sidelined.
Tammy Abraham, N'Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic were all ruled out, as were Christian Pulisic and Callum Hudson-Odoi while Jorginho was serving the first game of a two-match ban.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Marco van Ginkel were both unavailable as they continued their recovery from long-term injuries and there were also doubts over Andreas Christensen's fitness.
The enforced break has therefore had one positive impact on Chelsea's first-team squad with the majority of players returning to full fitness – but who could miss out at the weekend?
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Like James, Hudson-Odoi has been struggling with a knock picked up in training over the past few weeks.
The winger missed the in-house friendly and also sat out the 1-0 win over Reading while he was not seen in pictures of the victory against QPR.
Hudson-Odoi was expected to return to training at the end of last week but he is unlikely to feature from the off against Villa, according to The Athletic.
The 19-year-old missed the first part of the season recovering from a ruptured Achilles while further injuries hampered his momentum before he became the first Premier League footballer to test positive for coronavirus back in March.
Chelsea injury news: Callum Hudson-Odoi is not expected to start against Aston Villa (Image: GETTY)
Abraham, Pulisic, Kovacic and Christensen have all played a full part in Chelsea's build-up to the Premier League restart while Loftus-Cheek is also available.
Van Ginkel is still short of match fitness but has been offered a new contract by Chelsea, with his current deal expiring at the end of the month.