Ben Chilwell is back in training for the first time since surgery on a knee injury in December.
The 25-year-old suffered the knee problem in November and after an attempt to play on without surgery, he went under the knife in December and was quickly ruled out for the season.
The left-back will clearly not be ready to play in either of Chelsea’s remaining two games of the season – at home to and – but is now on course to return to full fitness over and be ready for the next campaign.
Chilwell had played six Premier League games over the first half of the season, scoring three goals from full-back, while he had made 12 appearances in all competitions.
That came after an excellent first season with the Blues as he made 42 appearances in all competitions and was in the starting line-up as Chelsea beat Manchester City to win the Champions League final.
The former Leicester man had also scored his first England goal shortly before the serious injury, netting in the 5-0 win over Andorra in October.
It is good news for Chelsea as their season comes to a pretty quiet end after defeat in the FA Cup final to Liverpool on Saturday.
However, there is still a danger that they could slip behind Tottenham into fourth if they were to lose their final two games of the season.
Pick up just one point against Leicester and Wolves and they will finish third, where they have been for a large chunk of the season.
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