Kenedy involved, key man absent: Three things spotted as Chelsea stars return to training

After a much-deserved week off for the majority of Chelsea's first-team players, the squad regrouped at Cobham today to begin their preparations for Saturday's FA Cup fourth-round tie against Plymouth and the forthcoming Club World Cup.

February is going to be another taxing month for the Blues, who are scheduled to play at least five games in 22 days across four different competitions. Fortunately, Thomas Tuchel's squad is largely refreshed and recharged.

While Thiago Silva and Christian Pulisic were called up for international duty by Brazil and the USA respectively, and a handful of players undertook fitness or recovery work at Cobham, most took the chance to get away to warmer climates and switch off from the demanding 2021/22 campaign.

Tuchel and his coaching staff also enjoyed time off, something the German admitted was needed prior to Chelsea's Premier League win over Tottenham Hotspur. "We have played since November; we play and play and play," he said. "We need to recharge the batteries and disconnect. This is my feeling."

Chelsea's players were not put through an overly strenuous workout on their return to training today. understands there was a relaxed feel to the session and a positive energy among the first-team group, which is almost back to full strength.

And here, we pick out four things we spotted in the training pictures released by Chelsea from this morning's work at Cobham.

Prior to the international break, Tuchel was working with limited options at centre-back with Trevoh Chalobah ruled out with a hamstring injury and Andreas Christensen suffering from Covid.

Chalobah was fit enough to return to the substitutes bench against Tottenham but, surprisingly after three weeks out, wasn't rushed back