(Update: Pulisic officially ruled out)
We’ve reached that point in the current international break where it’s time to start looking ahead to the weekend fixtures. With that in mind, we explore some early Chelsea FC team news ahead of their Saturday Premier League clash at Newcastle United.
The fifth place Blues will head Tyneside with the possibility of three players coming back into the fold: forward Kai Havertz, winger Christian Pulisic and midfielder Billy Gilmour. Let’s do the run down on the trio.
Working on keeping the fitness levels ?? pic.twitter.com/H6WSLmT3ZN
— Kai Havertz (@kaihavertz29) November 14, 2020
Kai Havertz
The German posted the following on his official Twitter account a couple days ago, as he’s had to train in isolation these past couple weeks due to a positive coronavirus test. He was set to feature against Rennes in the Champions League, but tested positive for COVID just before kickoff.
He also missed out on the Blues’ last game, a 4-1 win over Sheffield United. He should be back in action, provided he’s cleared via covid-19 testing protocol. He appears to be doing very very well in quarantine. We couldn’t help but post this photo that he put on social media with this adorable little puppy.
We’re back again! ? pic.twitter.com/lilpYZBfk8
— Kai Havertz (@kaihavertz29) November 17, 2020
Christian Pulisic
The wonder boy of the USMNT golden generation in waiting, Pulisic went to Team USA camp with a fitness status of day-to-day. His latest hamstring injury did not heal in time for him to feature in either of the Stars and Stripes’ two friendlies this period of international break.
He returned early to Chelsea and could be available this weekend. If he is, we could see Pulisic on the bench as an available substitute this weekend. Don’t expect to see him in a much larger role than that on Saturday.
Billy Gilmour
The Scottish midfielder suffered a knee injury in July that kept him out of action for four months. He’s on the comeback trail now though, but his first game back didn’t go so well. He was given his marching orders in Scotland’s 2-2 draw with Croatia, drawing a red card after just ten minutes.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.