Chelsea have been boosted by the return of centre-back Wesley Fofana to Tuesday's travelling squad to face Southampton.
Fofana went down with a hamstring injury in December which sparked a bizarre back-and-forth with manager Enzo Maresca. The Frenchman initially claimed his issue was not serious, before Maresca argued it could be a season-ending problem.
A post on social media revealed Fofana's insistence that Maresca's comments were "not true" as he estimated a return to action by the middle of February. The manager then confirmed Fofana had disputed the advice from the club's medical staff.
Ultimately, it appears as though Fofana's confidence was valid as Fabrice Hawkins was the first to reveal his impending return.
Just how much of a role Fofana will play against Southampton remains to be seen, but Chelsea officials will be incredibly reluctant to take any risks with the 24-year-old, whose challenging injury history has divided opinion online.
Fofana was a core part of Chelsea's success in the first half of the season. His partnership with Levi Colwill, while not perfect, showed plenty of promise and the Blues were third in the Premier League standings at the time of his injury.
Coincidentally, the first game Fofana missed in December was a 5-1 victory over Southampton as goals from Axel Disasi, who has since departed on loan, Christopher Nkunku, Noni Madueke, Cole Palmer and Jadon Sancho inspired a comfortable win.
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