Reece James and Romeo Lavia are both set to make their returns to Chelsea action when Morecambe visit in the third round of the FA Cup on Saturday.

James has not featured since the 1-1 draw with Arsenal in early November because of a hamstring injury and has made just four appearances across all competitions so far this term.

The club captain has been on the bench for each of the Blues’ last two Premier League matches, but manager Enzo Maresca has pledged to take a cautious approach to his latest comeback given his swathe of injury problems over the past three seasons.

Lavia, meanwhile, has missed the last five league games with a hamstring problem of his own. The Belgium international has emerged as a key part of Maresca’s side this season and his absence has been blamed as a key factor in the slump that has seen Chelsea go four games without a win.

“They are both available and can get some minutes,” Maresca confirmed at his pre-match press conference on Friday.

Aaron Anselmino, however, will play no part in the game against Morecambe following his loan recall from Boca Juniors at the start of the month.

The teenage centre-back, who signed from Boca last summer before immediately being sent back to the Argentine outfit to continue his development, has been brought to Cobham in a bid to accelerate his adaptation to English football.

“It’s too early,” Maresca said, when asked whether the 19-year-old could feature against Morecambe. “The plan for him is to try to put him in condition to get some minutes in the future, not now.

“He had some injuries [at Boca] so it’s important for him to arrive here and adapt to English weather and English football. From there we’ll start to use him.”