Chelsea handed fresh injury boost as defender returns to training during international break | OneFootball

Chelsea centre-back Benoit Badiashile has returned to the training pitch ahead of a potential return in the visit to Burnley after the November international break.

Earlier this month, Blues head coach Enzo Maresca confirmed that Badiashile is expected to be back in the team after the international break.

"That is, for us, huge news," the Italian said at the time.

His recovery from the muscular injury seems to be going smoothly for the defender, as The Daily Mail claims that he has now returned to training.

IMAGO / Pro Sports Images

However, a report from Football London adds that Badiashile is not back to full training yet and instead is still doing individual training at the club's training centre in Cobham.

The 24-year-old has missed a total of 17 games due to injuries since the start of the season, and he only featured three times in September and October before sustaining the latest injury.

Badiashile's return to the team could only help Chelsea cope with the absence of Levi Colwill, who is expected to miss the majority of the season due to a cruciate ligament injury.

Like Colwill, Badiashile is a left-footed centre-back, and there are only a few of them at Chelsea, with the only other one being Jorrel Hato.

IMAGO / News Images

Maresca has rotated his centre-back pairings virtually after every game, and this is unlikely to change as Chelsea continue to compete in several competitions.

Badiashile made the starting line-ups in his last two appearances for Chelsea, against Benfica and Liverpool, and helped the team win on both occasions.

Trevoh Chalobah and Josh Acheampong are currently on international duty, with England's senior team and Under-21, respectively.

Meanwhile, Tosin Adarabioyo, Jorrel Hato, and Wesley Fofana are among those who are staying behind at Cobham for this international break.