Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has confirmed that midfielder Mateo Kovacic has returned to training ahead of Saturday’s Premier League match against Leicester City.
Tuchel made the announcement during his pre-match press conference on Friday.
Due to an injury, Kovacic was absent from Chelsea’s 3-0 Premier League loss to Leeds United the previous week.
“Kova is back in the group and ready to play some 20 minutes [against Leicester].
“We miss him as a personality, his experience and his quality. It’s maybe 20 minutes at the moment. It was his first training week without a reaction in the knee, so we cannot rush things otherwise, we will just sabotage our own plans with him.
“We need him long term. It’s good to have him back and as an option on the bench,” Tuchel said.
The kick-off time for Chelsea vs Leicester City is 3 pm.