James, Chilwell and Sterling return to Chelsea squad

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Reece James, Ben Chilwell, Raheem Sterling and Ruben Loftus-Cheek are back in the Chelsea squad for the derby against Fulham.

None of the returning players are fit enough to start Friday’s game, but they have been back in full training and could play some part.

But Mateo Kovacic and N’Golo Kante remain sidelined along with Wesley Fofona, Christian Pulisic, Denis Zakaria and Armando Broja, although Fofana is stepping up his training and appears to be close to being available again.


The injury-plagued James has not featured since going off during the win at home to Bournemouth on 27 December.

That was his first appearance since October, when he suffered a knee injury which caused him to miss the World Cup.

Fellow England international Chilwell also missed the tournament and has not played for the Blues since November.

Chelsea hope to receive international clearance in time for new signing Enzo Fernandez to make his debut.

“We’ll see whether Enzo can be involved tomorrow,” said boss Graham Potter.

“We’ve got to get through the paperwork and make sure he gets the relevant clearance and all that stuff.

“He’s an impressive young man and we’re looking forward to working with him.”