Ben Chilwell, Christian Pulisic & Hakim Ziyech Updates Ahead of Brighton Opener
By Adam Aladay
New arrivals Hakim Ziyech and Ben Chilwell will not be involved for Chelsea's opening Premier League game of the 2020/21 season, but Christian Pulisic could be fit in time to play some part.
The Blues get their 2020/21 Premier League season underway on Monday when they travel to take on Brighton - whom they recently faced in a friendly clash. The two sides played out a 1-1 draw on that occasion, with Timo Werner scoring for the west London club.
One player who was ruled out for that contest was Pulisic, after he picked up a hamstring injury in their FA Cup final defeat to Arsenal last month. However, the Athletic's Simon Johnson has now reported that the winger is in with a chance of featuring in some capacity on Monday.
Pulisic wasn't expected to be involved for the start of the 2020/21 season due to his injury, but he has made a quicker recovery than expected. As a result, he is expected to take part in training on Wednesday and should he manage to complete the sessions without any problems, he could be included in the travelling squad.
Furthermore, Kai Havertz could be in line to make his Premier League debut for the club after settling in very well during his first training sessions. The German recently completed his move to west London from Bayer Leverkusen for an initial £72m, potentially rising to £90m with add-ons.
However, it isn't all good news for Chelsea fans as two other new signings have now been ruled out of the clash with Brighton due to injury. Ziyech twisted his knee during the friendly tussle with the Seagulls, forcing him to be substituted. The Athletic claim the former Ajax man could be ruled out for the opening few weeks of the campaign.
Chilwell, meanwhile, arrived at Stamford Bridge carrying a heel injury which he suffered while playing for Leicester back at the start of July. While his recovery is going well, he isn't expected to be fit for a 'couple more weeks'.
As for Thiago Silva, he has arrived in London after going on holiday following his involvement in the Champions League final with PSG. Should he test negative for the coronavirus, he is expected to begin training with his new teammates on Thursday. It remains to be seen whether Monday's game will come too soon for him, however.