Chelsea have received a welcome boost ahead of their return to Premier League action against Tottenham, with Nicolas Jackson pictured in training on Wednesday.
Jackson suffered a thigh injury during Chelsea’s 2-1 victory over West Ham last month and the 23-year-old forward has missed the club’s last eight matches in all competitions.
While Jackson has faced his fair share of criticism since arriving at Stamford Bridge, Cole Palmer is the only Chelsea player to outscore the Senegal international this season and his absence has left Enzo Maresca desperately short up front.
Pedro Neto has deputised through the middle for Chelsea’s last four league matches with some success, but Maresca will no doubt be relieved to see his number one striker, Jackson, closing in on his return.
The Blues confirmed on their official website that Jackson had trained both in the gym and on the grass at Cobham, along with the likes of Malo Gusto, Jadon Sancho and Chrisopher Nkunku who had not been selected for international duty.
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After the session, Jackson shared a photograph showing him surrounded by his Chelsea team-mates in a huddle along with the praying hands emoji, a possible nod to his impending comeback.
It remains to be seen if Jackson will be deemed fit enough to feature against Spurs, with fourth-placed Chelsea looking to make it five wins from their last six matches in next week’s London derby.
There was still no sign of Palmer in Wednesday’s training-ground pictures, though, after a muscle problem ruled the forward out of Chelsea’s defeat to Arsenal.
The injury also meant Palmer could not be considered for selection for England’s World Cup qualifying wins over Albania and Latvia.
‘Cole will not be with us. He was not on the pitch with Chelsea,’ England head coach Thomas Tuchel said of Palmer’s fitness ahead of the Wembley double-header.
‘We’ve waited quite a while now for feedback and for the chance, maybe, to call him up.
‘But he’s not on the pitch and not available. It makes no sense to call him up now.
‘We stay with this group that we have. Everybody is in training today, all 26 players, so it gives us the full choice.
‘Hopefully nothing happens in this training session and we will have to tough choices to make for tomorrow.’
There remains some uncertainty surrounding Noni Madueke’s fitness, though Maresca is hopeful the winger – who has been struggling with a hamstring issue – will return to face Tottenham.
Marc Guiu, meanwhile, has been sidelined since early February with a similar problem but the 19-year-old has stepped up his rehabilitation during the break and is believed to be nearing full fitness again.
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