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Chelsea have been handed a boost, as full-back Ben Chilwell is reportedly close to returning from a long injury layoff.
Chilwell, 27, injured his hamstring in the 1-0 EFL Cup third-round home win over Brighton & Hove Albion in September and hasn't played since then. As per Football London, the left-back is not expected to return before February.
However, in a heartening update, as reported by Pys, Chilwell is close to returning to training.
The left-back has one assist in seven games across competitions and has missed 14 games for club (13) and country since his injury in the Brighton game.
In his absence, Mauricio Pochettino's side have won seven times across competitions, losing four. The Blues are tenth in the Premier League, with 22 points from 17 games but are into the EFL Cup semis following a 4-2 shootout win at home to Newcastle United in midweek following a 1-1 draw.
Callum Wilson's 16th-minute opener was cancelled out by Mykhailo Mudryk off the bench in the second minute of stoppage time. In the ensuing shootout, the Ukrainian was one of four Blues scorers, with the others being Cole Palmer, Connor Gallagher and Christopher Nkunku.
The Blues take on a two-legged semifinal against Middlesbrough on January 8 (away) and January 22 (home).
"I think it was a really good game" - Chelsea boss after Newcastle win
Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino is happy with his side's effort in a hard-fought Carabao Cup quarterfinal win over Newcastle United at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday (December 20).
The Blues were close to exiting the competition before substitute Mudryk's late leveller forced penalties, where Pochettino's side went perfect to seal their spot in the last-four.
"I think it was a really good game", said the Blues boss to Sky Sports (as per BBC). "We suffered when we conceded, it was our mistake. I said to the players to always believe until the end. Sometimes in football you need some luck and it came. Credit to the players because they were fantastic."
Chelsea return to action in the Premier League at West Ham United on Sunday (December 24).
