Chelsea centre-back Benoit Badiashile has been pictured back in full training as he closes in on his recovery from a hamstring injury.
The club’s American Twitter account released a photo of the defender back at Cobham as he takes part in a training session:
Great to see you, Benoît 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/zGtjapFRiZ
— Chelsea FC USA (@ChelseaFCinUSA) October 11, 2023
Fans on X are delighted to see Badiashile is fit again, with the Frenchman having been sidelined for the best part of 5 months:
The big man is back
— eddyk (@CFCEddykwart) October 11, 2023
Yess our Lamborghini
— BlueForever (@BlueForever011) October 11, 2023
Let’s gooooo
— Bamzy (@CFCBamzy) October 11, 2023
He has Ben out for too long, we need him fit
— Cmvng.sats (@i_am_vickyd) October 11, 2023
HES BACK TO HAUNT THE PREM
— 𝐣𝐚𝐲. (@JaycifiedV1) October 11, 2023
Good to see him
— UmuchuPride_CFC (@MaaziZoba) October 12, 2023
Badiashile has been on the sidelines for longer than anticipated
The 22-year-old was one of the Blues’ better-performing players in the second half of last season so it was a cruel blow when he was ruled out for several months.
Some hoped that Badiashile would be back for the start of the season but it was always felt that September was a more realistic timeframe. He did return to the training pitch a few weeks ago but he suffered a minor setback. Now, though, it appears, he is fully fit.
Will the Chelsea defender return for the game against Arsenal?
There is a chance that Badiashile will return to the bench when Chelsea face Arsenal at Stamford Bridge after the international break. He does lack match sharpness but manager Mauricio Pochettino is short of centre-back options.
Wesley Fofana is sidelined for the long term with an ACL injury, Trevoh Chalobah is still out with his own hamstring problem while it was confirmed at the start of this week that Axel Disasi has torn his thigh muscle.
Watch a recap of the weekend action in the Premier League on Shots! TV here
