Three Chelsea stars return to full team training despite Christopher Nkunku minor injury blow

Chelsea completed their final preparations for the Carabao Cup semi-final tie against Middlesbrough on Tuesday night.

Mauricio Pochettino‘s side head north to the Riverside Stadium for the first leg of the last four tie.

Chelsea have won their last three games in all competitions against Crystal Palace, Luton Town and Preston North End.

A positive result on Teesside will set the Blues up perfectly for the second leg later this month at Stamford Bridge to book their spot in February’s Wembley final, which will see them face either Liverpool or Fulham should they progress.

Pochettino will have to manage without 11 players for Tuesday’s tie, with Chelsea confirming the status of the absentees on Monday in the club’s regular injury report.

• Benoit Badiashile – in full team training for reconditioning phase.
• Ben Chilwell – in full team training for reconditioning phase.
• Carney Chukwuemeka – in full team training for reconditioning phase.
• Christopher Nkunku – undergoing medical assessment.
• Trevoh Chalobah – continuing to undergo his rehabilitation programme.
• Marc Cucurella – continuing to undergo his rehabilitation programme.
• Wesley Fofana – continuing to undergo his rehabilitation programme.
• Reece James – continuing to undergo his rehabilitation programme.
• Romeo Lavia – continuing to undergo his rehabilitation programme.
• Robert Sanchez – continuing to undergo his rehabilitation programme.
• Lesley Ugochukwu – continuing to undergo his rehabilitation programme.

Pochettino confirmed Chelsea will make a decision on Robert Sanchez after he underwent scans on Monday. Meanwhile, Christopher Nkunku will miss Tuesday’s semi-final with a minor hip problem – he missed the training session as a result.

On Nkunku, Pochettino said: “He won’t be involved tomorrow (Tuesday), we will see for Saturday. We are not sure, we are going to be cautious.”

Regarding Sanchez, the Chelsea head coach added: “We saw him, he came from a scan. We need to see the doctors and assess. Today (Monday) we will have a clear idea. No, no, no (surgery).

“It’s the pace of the evolution and how he can improve from doing treatment to starting on the pitch.”

Recently, Pochettino confirmed Ben Chilwell, Benoit Badiashile and Carney Chukwuemeka were all nearing a return following injuries. The trio handed the Argentine a welcome boost after being involved in full team training on Monday.