Chelsea's Armando Broja and Benoit Badiashile have reportedly moved closer to returning to first-team action in the past week.
Broja has missed all of 2023 so far after tearing his ACL in a friendly against Aston Villa during the Qatar World Cup late last year.
Badiashile meanwhile, has been absent since Chelsea's 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest in May due to a hamstring injury.
The Evening Standard claims that the pair featured in internal matches while many members of the Chelsea squad were away on international duty.
Their returns are unlikely to be imminent though, considering that both were absent from Chelsea training on Friday morning.
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That means that the duo will miss Chelsea's trip to Bournemouth over the weekend, with the clash against Aston Villa next Sunday being earmarked as a possible return date instead.
Being careful with Broja is clearly on the agenda for manager Mauricio Pochettino given the severity of his injury.
On top of that, Chelsea's shortage in striking options at present means that Pochettino needs Broja to stay fit at least until they can welcome Christopher Nkunku back in a few months' time.
Having more defensive options will also be most welcome for the manager, as Chelsea only have three fit central defenders available at the moment.
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With Wesley Fofana and Trevoh Chalobah also sidelined, Thiago Silva, Axel Disasi and Levi Colwill are the only options Pochettino can currently call upon.
The Blues have not been particularly strong in defence so far either, keeping just one clean sheet in their five matches against Liverpool, West Ham United, Luton Town, AFC Wimbledon and Nottingham Forest.
Another player who was absent from Friday's training session is new signing Romeo Lavia, who has suffered a setback in his return from injury.
The Belgian midfielder missed international duty with his national side last week, but a new injury picked up in the meantime means that he will miss more action.
Lavia is yet to play for Chelsea since joining from Southampton for £60m in August, and an ankle injury means that he will not make his debut for another month at least.
Andrew Delaney
