Jesse Derry is back at Stamford Bridge this evening as Sporting face Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League.
The Chelsea youngster is on loan at Sporting in Portugal this season, but returns to the Blues' home ground in west London to take on Shakhtar Donetsk, who are playing their home matches at the Bridge in Europe's premier competition this season due to the ongoing conflict in the Donbas region.
First appearance since Premier League debut
It will be the first time Derry has appeared at Chelsea's home ground since his Premier League debut in May, when he was taken to hospital midway through the game after a sickening clash of heads with Nottingham Forest's Zach Abbott, from which he has now recovered.
Derry has had to be patient so far for opportunities to show Sporting why they opted to take him on loan for the season, but may have turned a corner last week.
First start for Sporting
After all of his first six appearances for the club came in the form of cameos as a substitute, he was finally handed his first start for the Lisbon giants when they faced Maritimo in the Portuguese League Cup. Derry chipped in with his first goal involvement for the club, assisting the opening goal as Sporting prevailed 2-1 on the night.
The chance is there for Derry to make his first Champions League start this evening if interim head coach Tiago Fernandes calls on him.
Limited minutes so far
The 19-year-old will be hoping his 73 minutes in the tank last week can pave the way for further minutes this evening, especially after struggling to play as much as he'd have liked so far. He has played only 32 minutes (not including stoppage time) in the Portuguese League, spread across four substitute appearances.
An unused sub in Sporting's Champions League opener against Galatasaray, he came off the bench in their subsequent fixtures against Lens and Austrian club LASK.
Derry will be keen to bring the scintillating form he showed last season for Chelsea's Under-21s into the Champions League arena as he seeks to impress his parent club back on their home turf.
