Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte has received a huge boost ahead of their London derby with Tottenham after Eden Hazard and Tiemoue Bakayoko were able to take part in first-team training for the first time this summer, reports The London Evening Standard.
Hazard has been sidelined since the end of last season after breaking his ankle on international duty with Belgium, while Bakayoko hasn’t been able to train properly after arriving with a knee problem.
Conte has already conceded that the Premier League champions need to rush Bakayoko’s recovery in the wake of Nemanja Matic’s sale to Manchester United and that has only been heightened after Cesc Fabregas was sent off against Burnley last weekend.
It leaves the Chelsea head coach with N’Golo Kante as his only fit central midfielder ahead of Sunday’s clash with Tottenham and he will be desperate to have Bakayoko available this weekend, although he remains a serious doubt.
While the France international has an outside chance of making the weekend’s trip to Wembley, Hazard is not expected to feature despite also returning to training.
The 26-year-old finished last season as the highest WhoScored rated player in the Premier League (7.81) after finishing the 2016/17 with his best ever goal return in England (16).
