Graham Potter has confirmed that Chelsea defenders Reece James and Wesley Fofana are close to being back in full training as they step up their recoveries in Dubai ahead of a potential return to action.
James has been recovering from a knee injury which he picked up in Chelsea's Champions League clash with AC Milan back in October.
At the time, Potter was 'hopeful' that his in-form right-back would be fine but he was unable to race back to fitness in time to be selected in Gareth Southgate's 26-man England squad.
Meanwhile, Fofana - who joined the club for £70million in August - was also unable to represent France at the World Cup in Qatar, having similarly sustained a knee injury, just a week before James - also against AC Milan.
Speaking to Chelsea's official website from Dubai, Potter confirmed the defensive duo are close to returning to full training and have travelled to Dubai for a mid-season trip.
'Reece is not quite fully training but he's integrating into training along with Wesley,' Potter said.
'Wesley is a little bit further behind but not too far.'
Both James and Fofana will be forced to watch on from the sidelines as their respective countries face-off against one another on Saturday in the quarter-finals of the World Cup.
Fofana's injury was initially feared to be worse so Potter will be delighted to get the former Leicester City man back at the heart of his defence sooner rather than later.
The former Brighton boss also gave an update on left-back Ben Chilwell - another to miss out on the winter World Cup.
The England and Chelsea full-back tore his hamstring in a victory over Dinamo Zagreb in November and is still not yet ready to return to first-team training despite some progress.
'Ben has come back from his individual work in Dubai and he's now working closer with the guys but still not team training,' he added.
Updating a list of injuries, Potter also revealed that Kepa Arrizabalaga and Ruben Loftus-Cheek are both making progress from their respective ailments.
'Kepa is not quite with the team yet but has stepped up his rehab,' Potter added.
'Ruben is doing some work in the gym so we're hopeful that he can be involved next week but we'll see how he goes.
'There are lots of players at different levels and that's the challenge but we're making progress so that's the positive.'
Chelsea return to Premier League action on December 27 when they take on Gary O'Neil's Bournemouth side.