What Chelsea star Jadon Sancho is doing before Arsenal speaks volumes after injury update

Jadon Sancho is continuing his attempts to recover from a surprise injury having not played for three matches. Although he was not available for last week's 1-1 draw to Manchester United due to loan rules, Sancho was not fit or well enough to feature anyway.

It has put a brief halt on what had been a sharp start to his life at Chelsea. Sancho assisted three times in his first three Premier League games after coming on to make quite the introduction at Bournemouth in mid-September. That earned him a place in Enzo Maresca's main XI.

However, he struggled to make an impact at home to Nottingham Forest and then away at Liverpool, with Pedro Neto impressing when called on from the bench and in Europe. Sancho has since been forced to sit out, with Mykhailo Mudryk preferred as the second half substitute on the left against Newcastle in the league two weeks ago as well.

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As Sancho is on loan at Chelsea, he couldn't play against parent club United last week. He also missed the Carabao Cup defeat to Newcastle and hasn't been selected for Conference League fixtures either.

"He is recovering from [illness]," Maresca explained, touching on why the 24-year-old has been less visible in recent matches. "He had a knock in the session. He is out for tomorrow [Thursday, vs FC Noah], and we will see if he is available [for Arsenal] or after the international break."

Now, with Chelsea set to welcome Mikel Arteta and Arsenal to Stamford Bridge on Sunday, Sancho is working towards a return. Posting on his Instagram story on Saturday morning, he showed just what he was up to in a bid to get back to the pitch sooner rather than later.

In a short clip of him on a physio's bed, Sancho is seen with his left thigh being pressed in by several compression patches, working the muscles. With little so far being said of the problem picked up, it indicates a muscular issue.

Sancho's illness would appear to have worn off in recent days too. He was part of the supporting group of Chelsea players who attended the match against Noah on Thursday night. Sancho uploaded an image of himself watching on from the stands.

His next step will be to get back out onto the field, playing himself.