Graham Potter has confirmed that Edouard Mendy will be in Chelsea’s squad to face AC Milan in the Champions League on Wednesday.
The Senegalese goalkeeper, who has been on the sidelines since injuring his knee against West Ham last month, has yet to feature for Chelsea under the new Blues boss.
Mendy endured a rotten run of form towards the end of Thomas Tuchel’s reign at Stamford Bridge, but Potter is delighted to have the shot-stopper back in contention ahead of a congested run of fixtures.
‘Eddie [Mendy] has been training with the team the last few days so he will be in the squad, which is good news for us because we need as much competition for places,’ he said during his press conference on Tuesday.
The Chelsea manager also delivered a positive update on N’Golo Kante, who has been out with a hamstring injury since August.
He confirmed that Kante is ‘getting closer’ to full fitness, while fellow central midfielder Jorginho remains a doubt having picked up a knock at Selhurst Park this weekend.
‘Jorgi felt some discomfort against Crystal Palace but has trained today,’ he added. ‘We’ll see how he reacts to that.
‘Kai [Havertz] had a slight feeling after Palace but trained today.
‘NG [Kante] is training more and more. Not fully but getting closer, so that’s really positive.’
Despite Mendy’s return to the squad, Potter made no promises to the 30-year-old that he would be back in the starting line-up ahead of Kepa Arrizabalaga, who deputised in his absence.
The Blues boss admitted he will let ‘football decide’ Chelsea’s number one spot, hinting that both goalkeepers will have ample opportunity to prove their worth on the pitch.
Potter said: ‘If you look at what we’ve got over the next six weeks, it’s an incredible schedule so I’m in no rush to name a number one or number two.
‘I want to get Eddie fit and ready to play and then we have two goalkeepers and in an ideal world, you let football decide.’