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Chelsea left-back Ben Chilwell and midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka have been spotted in training ahead of their upcoming FA Cup match against Preston North End.
In a photo posted by @CFCPys on X (formerly Twitter), the duo can be seen walking ahead of the rest of the squad. Chilwell, who is the club's vice captain, is smiling as well.
The duo's return is likely to be a massive boost for Mauricio Pochettino's side given the various injury struggles the team has faced this season. The Blues are currently languishing in 10th place in the Premier League with just 28 points from 20 matches.
Pochettino has almost never had his full squad at his disposal this term. That will continue to be the case for the near future as Reece James, Marc Cucurella, Wesley Fofana, Romeo Lavia and Lesley Ugochukwu are currently out injured.
Chilwell and Chukwuemeka enjoyed promising starts to the 2023-24 campaign with Chelsea.
The former played in their first six Premier League matches and recorded an assist before suffering a hamstring injury that has kept him out ever since. Meanwhile, Chukwuemeka started their league opener, a 1-1 draw with Liverpool, and scored his first goal for the club in their next game against West Ham United.
However, he was substituted at half-time in the match against the Hammers, which the Blues went onto lose 3-1. Chelsea later confirmed that he had sustained a knee injury.
Chelsea gear up to face Preston competitively for the first time in 14 years
It has been over a decade since Chelsea last faced Championship side Preston North End, who they will meet in the third round of the FA Cup on Saturday, January 6.
The match at Stamford Bridge will be the first competitive meeting between the two teams since January 2010 and only the fourth in nearly 43 years. Their last encounter was also part of the FA Cup (fourth round) and took place at Deepdale Stadium.
On that occasion, the Blues, then managed by current Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti, managed a 2-0 victory. Nicolas Anelka opened the scoring in the 37th minute before Sky Sports pundit and former Liverpool star Daniel Sturridge netted two minutes after half-time.
Preston currently sit 14th in the Championship with 35 points from 26 matches, five adrift of Sunderland who occupy the final playoff spot.
