Kante facing late fitness test; Willian and Rudiger ruled out; Hudson-Odoi returns to training

Chelsea begin the 2019-20 Premier League campaign on Sunday with an away trip to Old Trafford. While preseason preparations have gone largely according to plan, the defense and midfield have shown several holes that need to be plugged.

Two of players who should help greatly in that regard are N’Golo Kante and Antonio Rudiger, but they’ve both spent almost the entire summer trying to recover from knee injuries. Fortunately, it sounds like they’re both getting close and may even feature this weekend, though in Rudiger’s case that seems a bit unlikely still. Willian, who’s recovering from a hamstring injury, is in a similar situation as well.

“We have Kante fit, but if he’s match fit is a question I will have to decide right up until the end. Everyone else is pretty much fit. We have the ones we know are outstanding.

“Willian is working to be fit and it’s probably come slightly too soon for him. Possibly Rudiger the same, but he has been training with us for a few days now. That’s for me to gauge over the next 24, 48 hours until Sunday.”

-Frank Lampard; source: Chelsea FC

In further good news, a certain Callum Hudson-Odoi returned to training today (Friday) as well, possibly after signing his name on the dotted line of his fresh new five-year contract. So while we wait for that announcement, here’s CH-O looking happy as a clam at high tide.