Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri has confirmed that star man Eden Hazard is likely to play '40, 45 minutes' in the Premier League clash with Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge on Sunday after the Belgian was able to train with the squad on Thursday.
Hazard has been forced to miss Chelsea's last three games in all competitions as a result of a back injury. Although the team has continued to win without him, his return will be a welcome boost, even if Sarri admits he isn't ready to play the full 90 minutes.
"Yesterday, Eden had a large part of the training with the team. Maybe he will not be ready to play for 90 minutes at the moment, because it was the first training in the last two weeks, but probably he will be able to play for 40, 45 minutes," the manager explained, via ChelseaFC.com.
"I will speak to him before deciding whether he starts. For us, it's important."
Maurizio Sarri reports he does not know yet whether Eden Hazard is fit to play for 90 minutes. He trained for a large part of the session yesterday. He can probably play for 40 to 45 minutes. #CHECRY
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) November 2, 2018
Chelsea have thrived since Sarri arrived at the club in July, and one player in particular who has benefitted from the new boss is Ross Barkley after a lacklustre debut season last term.
"He has great technical quality, he has great quality from a physical point of view - he is improving since his injury last season - and he has improved from the tactical point of view," the boss said.
"He is becoming a very, very important player for us, and not only us, for the English people too."
Sarri's assessment of Ruben Loftus-Cheek following his impressive display against Derby in midweek also offered plenty of promise that more chances could come his way.
"He has improved, but he needs to improve more from a tactical point of view," Sari explained.
"Physically he has great characteristics. He is fast, solid and has great impact. Technically he is very good. If he wants to play like a midfielder, he has to improve in the defensive phase, but his potential is great."