Thiago Silva made a surprise appearance in Chelsea's training session this week, for the first time since leaving the club in the summer.

After 151 appearances and adding a Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup to his cabinet in four years at Chelsea, the Brazilian icon moved back to Brazil. He returned to Fluminense this summer, the club where it all began for him.

Silva built a strong connection with the London club and became a well-respected figure in the dressing room. Last weekend, he was sat in the stands to watch the Blues' 2-1 victory over Brentford with his eldest son and Chelsea youth player, Isago.

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Taking to Instagram this week, Silva shared a series of pictures with the Blues' stars at Cobham. Among smiles and laughter, he wrote: "Great to be back with the boys! Always good to see my Chelsea FC family."

Chelsea led the comments with a simple blue circle, heart and a Brazil flag emoji. Enzo Fernandez, Nicolas Jackson and Noni Madueke all replied with blue love heart emojis.

Thousands of fans were also in the comments, as one said: "We missed you, monstro," before a second added: "Our legend."

A third stated: "Proper Chels," while another concluded: "Once a blue, always a blue."

During his Chelsea farewell speech, Silva said: "I think in everything I did here over the four years, I always gave my all. But, unfortunately, everything has a start, a middle and an end. That doesn't mean that this is a definitive end. I hope to leave the door open so that in the near future I can return, albeit in another role here. But…it's an indescribable love. I can only say thank you.

"Obviously, when I started here, it was during the pandemic so there weren't any fans in the stadium. But through social media, it became something very special to me and then when the fans started coming back to the stadium and life was getting back to normal, I started to feel a lot of affection and respect for my story and for my start here."

Enzo Maresca's side will return to Premier League action on Sunday when they head to Merseyside to take on Everton. On Thursday, the Blues extended their winning streak in the Europa Conference League, beating Shamrock Rovers 5-1.