Silva, Kante and Havertz return to Chelsea training ahead of Real Madrid clash
Caretaker boss Frank Lampard is expected to have the trio back in contention for the Champions League second leg.
Chelsea face an uphill battle to secure passage to the semi-finals of the Champions League at Real Madrid’s expense.
The Premier League side will need to overturn a 2-0 first leg deficit in the reverse fixture on Tuesday night but will do so with a squad bolstered by the return of three key players: Thiago Silva, N’Golo Kante and Kai Havertz.
None of them were in the squad as Chelsea lost 2-1 against Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday but the trio returned to training on Monday. Lampard described the weekend’s showing as “not a Chelsea performance” as the Blue extended their winless streak to seven games.
Both Silva and Kante started the first leg against Real Madrid last week but were rested for the Premier League fixture having recently returned from long-term injuries. Chelsea are currently languishing in 11th position in the league and have no realistic chance of reaching the European places. For Lampard’s side, the Champions League is the only chance to rescue a desperate season.
Lampard without defensive duo for Real Madrid game
While the three returning players will add both quality and experience to Lampard’s squad he will be without some names who may otherwise be expected to start. Kalidou Koulibaly was not involved in Monday’s training session having already been ruled out of the Champions League fixture with a hamstring injury.
“He won’t be available for either [the Brighton or Real Madrid] game,” Lampard said of Koulibaly last week. “It’s a hamstring injury and it’ll be a matter of weeks rather than days.”
Likewise Ben Chilwell is out for Tuesday after picking up a red card in the first leg. In Saturday’s Premier League defeat Frank Lampard moved to a back four, meaning that either Marc Cucurella or Cesar Azpilicueta could be in contention to take Chilwell’s place for the Real Madrid clash.