arney Chukwuemeka has returned to full Chelsea training to ease Mauricio Pochettino’s still-sizeable selection problems ahead of a trip to face Fulham on Monday night.
The 19-year-old is back from a knee injury sustained against West Ham in Chelsea’s second Premier League match in August.
Pochettino remains without 10 players after Ben Chilwell is picked up a hamstring problem in the midweek Carabao Cup win over Brighton.
He joins Reece James, Christopher Nkunku, Romeo Lavia, Benoit Badiashile, Trevoh Chalobah, Wesley Fofana and Marcus Bettinelli on the treatment table.
Nicolas Jackson serves his one-game suspension after picking up his fifth yellow card in the 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa on Sunday. Malo Gusto was also sent off last weekend and serves the second match of his three-game ban on Monday.
Cole Palmer may step up to replace Jackson in a forward line reshuffle with Armando Broja unlikely to be fit enough to start having only just returned from a lengthy injury lay-off.
Raheem Sterling may act as a false 9 in an attack featuring Palmer, Enzo Fernandez and Mykhailo Mudryk.
Moises Caicedo and Conor Gallagher will likely be the two holding midfielders in front of a back four featuring Marc Cucurella for the first time in the Premier League this season.
Pochettino faces a choice of whether to replace Chilwell with either Cucurella or Ian Maatsen.
Axel Disasi could fill in at right-back with Thiago Silva and Levi Colwill at centre-back in front of Robert Sanchez.
Predicted Chelsea XI: Sanchez; Disasi, Thiago Silva, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Gallagher; Palmer, Enzo, Mudryk; Sterling
Injuries: James, Nkunku, Lavia, Badiashile, Chalobah, Fofana, Bettinelli
Suspended: Jackson, Gusto
Time and date: 8pm BST on Monday, October 2, 2023
Venue: Craven Cottage
