Eden Hazard might not play a full 90 minutes for Chelsea until after the international break against Tottenham.
Hazard missed three matches with a back injury and on Thursday made his first start since the October 20 draw with Manchester United.
He played for 62 minutes as Chelsea advanced to the Europa League knockout stages with victory at BATE Borisov of Belarus, having made his return as a substitute in last Sunday’s win over Crystal Palace.
Asked if Hazard was now ready to play a full game against Everton on Sunday, head coach Maurizio Sarri said: “I’m not sure. It depends on the intensity of the match.”
The Blues will be seeking to extend their unbeaten start under Sarri to 18 competitive games against the Toffees, with the London derby with Spurs following at Wembley on November 24.
The win over Palace saw Sarri equal Frank Clark’s 1994 record of remaining unbeaten in his first 11 Premier League games; avoid defeat against Everton and Sarri will have the record to himself.
Chelsea’s only loss this season came in the Community Shield to Manchester City and the Blues won a fourth Europa League game to advance from Group L.
Sarri said Hazard would play for 45 or 50 minutes in Belarus, but the Belgian stayed on for over an hour.
He was kept on for “five minutes more” than intended, because Sarri felt Ruben Loftus-Cheek had an issue with his back, which the Blues boss later downplayed.
On Hazard, the Italian added: “He’s doing very well with his back, but now of course he needs to improve the physical performance.
“He interrupted the activity for 10, 12 days. So it’s important to have minutes on the pitch in a gradual way.”
Sarri was far from satisfied with the performance at BATE, despite sealing qualification for the knockout stages with two matches to spare, and is likely to restore rested defenders David Luiz, Antonio Rudiger and Marcos Alonso.
Midfielder N’Golo Kante was a late call-up for the trip following illness to Cesc Fabregas, but the Frenchman did not feature and is likely to start against Everton.
Fabregas and Loftus-Cheek are the only doubts.
This post was last modified on 10/11/2018