Marco Palestra has been pictured in first-team training as his wait to make his Chelsea debut goes on.
The full-back, signed over the summer from Atalanta, impressed in pre-season but picked up a quad injury in training in August which has delayed his first competitive minutes.
He is now back in first-team training at Cobham, though, as confirmed in pictures released by the club.
Training return at Cobham
The Italian trained alongside Pep Chavarria, Danny Welbeck, Wesley Fofana, Jordan Henderson, Levi Colwill and Malo Gusto in a session led by head coach Xabi Alonso.
Not pictured in the session, however, were some of the other injured Chelsea stars who are not involved on international duty this month. None of Moises Caicedo, Joao Pedro, Cole Palmer or Reece James were seen in this particular batch of photos.
Injury concerns for key players
Caicedo has only managed 14 minutes of competitive football so far this season after suffering a calf injury in the summer. He came off the bench to make a return against Brighton, but lasted less than a quarter of an hour before being forced off again.
Palmer, meanwhile, withdrew from England duty, citing a minor muscular injury, while Joao Pedro and Reece James are dealing with knee and hamstring issues, respectively.
While Palmer’s issue is thought to be minor, it remains unclear how long Joao Pedro and James might spend on the sidelines.
Jamie Gittens can also be counted among the injured after he took a kick to the ankle while representing England’s Under-21s against Kazakhstan over the weekend.
Palestra's frustration
It is a definite boost for Palestra to have returned to first-team training, though, after Alonso revealed the player’s ‘frustration’ at his injury woes.
“He's quite frustrated after a very good pre-season not to be able to play and to make his debut in the Premier League,” said the Spaniard earlier this month.
“But I told Marco, ‘Easy, the season is long, there will be a lot of games, and you will play your role, you will have your minutes, you will enjoy your game.’
“He is full of energy, and you need to control that.”
It is hoped he can be involved as the Blues host Bournemouth in their first match back after the international break.
