Rudiger, Willian back in Chelsea training

Chelsea’s Fab Five of injured players is set to lose two members after Antonio Rudiger and Willian both joined Chelsea first-team training, at least in limited fashion, on Wednesday. While a certain someone was sitting out (for whatever reason) and launched all the speculations, Rudiger and Willian were back in to some extent following their knee and hamstring injuries, respectively.

Rudiger had been out since the final few weeks of last season, and had been working hard all summer on his own to get back from this latest knee surgery — this time just a meniscus and no ligament damage fortunately. Based on the video he and Chelsea both posted on social media, he looks practically ready to go, though it sounds like he’s still a few weeks away from full and match fitness (which shouldn’t be surprising after all this time off). He was expected to be back by mid-September at the latest, but surely he looks ahead of that pace right now.

Willian was back as well, with slightly less fanfare, though his injury was more minor as well. He had picked up a hamstring strain in the Copa America semifinals last month, and had been rehabbing on his own while taking an extended post-tournament holiday in Brazil. He had been back for a few days, and now will hopefully get up to speed quickly.

Welcome back, Toni and Willi!