Chelsea handed major boost as five key stars return before Leicester clash | OneFootball

Cole Palmer among those back in training at Cobham after pulling out of international duty last week

Chelsea have been handed multiple fitness boosts with Cole Palmer and Levi Colwill among the players training ahead of their clash with Leicester.

Palmer and Colwill pulled out of England duty last week for Nations League games against Greece and the Republic of Ireland but both players are fit for Saturday’s trip to the King Power Stadium as the Premier League returns.

Jadon Sancho is also back in training, following an illness before the international break that forced him to miss games against FC Noah and Arsenal.

Palmer withdrew from the England squad after Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca revealed he was a major doubt for the 1-1 draw with Arsenal after he was hurt by a bad tackle from Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez a week earlier.

Palmer did not join up with the England squad for games against Greece and Ireland

Chelsea FC via Getty Images

The 22-year-old completed 90 minutes against Arsenal but did not join up with England for games against Greece and Ireland. Colwill also pulled out of the England squad with an unspecified injury.

The fitness of Palmer in particular is a major boost for Chelsea, who will look to continue their strong start to the season in the lunchtime kick-off at Leicester on Saturday.

Chelsea are currently third in the Premier League and can move to within a point of second-placed Manchester City with a win this weekend.

The Blues have had fitness concerns over Malo Gusto after he pulled out of the France Under-21 squad, though the full-back posted a picture of himself on social media back training at Cobham on Monday.

Wesley Fofana withdrew from the senior France squad with knee pain, while Romeo Lavia did not feature for Belgium over the international break due to a hamstring issue.

Maresca will provide further updates when he addresses the media later this week ahead of the Leicester game, though Fofana was pictured by Chelsea in training on Monday.

Captain Reece James has also been training with Chelsea over the international break after he was not called up by England.

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