Zouma to feature in another Under-23 game
Kurt Zouma will continue his steady recovery from a long-term knee injury with another appearance for Chelsea’s Under-23s on Monday.
The France international is set for his fourth run-out with the youngsters when they take on Southampton.
Zouma, 22, suffered cruciate ligament damage against Manchester United in February and only returned to training last month.
Blues boss Antonio Conte said: “It’s important now that Kurt is with us, in the training sessions.
“It’s normal when you arrive after a bad injury, you need a bit of time to recover your best form and for this reason we prefer Kurt, in this period, to play games with the Under-23s.”
Zouma might, however, find a potential route back into the first team blocked, despite Conte using an extra centre-back in his new formation.
At present, Cesar Azpilicueta, Gary Cahill and David Luiz are the preferred trio, with John Terry and Branislav Ivanovic also waiting in the wings.
But Conte insisted he was happy to be given a selection headache when Zouma is fully fit.
“I’m happy to have this availability of the central defenders,” he said.
“It’s fantastic to have available another good player, like Kurt Zouma.”
