Chelsea wait on two key injury updates for Brighton with Reece James decision made

Mauricio Pochettino is waiting on the fitness of two players ahead of Chelsea's trip to Brighton. It comes with only five players certain to miss the game, the lowest tally of the entire season.

Having welcomed back Christopher Nkunku, Reece James, and Malo Gusto to the squad against Nottingham Forest, both Ben Chilwell and Carney Chukwuemeka could join their teammates on the south coast. "It was very good news last game to have many players back on track," the head coach said on Tuesday.

"Chilly [Ben Chilwell] is really close but he is not 100 per cent to be part of the squad. Carney Chukwuemeka, also. We need to assess both to see if they can be part of the squad for tomorrow but if not they will be available for the weekend [vs Bournemouth]."

He added: "It's very positive thing to finish the season with very few players injured. It is good news to recover the player and be positive for next season and the start of pre-season with nearly all the players fit to train."

Only two weeks ago Chelsea were without 14 senior players for the home clash against Tottenham. The gradual return from long-term injuries for James, Nkunku, Levi Colwill, and also Lesley Ugochukwu has left Pochettino's squad bolstered for the final two games.

Chelsea travel to Brighton on Wednesday in the hope of securing seventh place, whilst Manchester United host Newcastle in a game that will go a long way to determining just who gets to compete in the Europa League. Should Erik ten Hag's men fail to win the FA Cup then sixth would be enough for Chelsea, who can still overtake Newcastle.

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The Blues face Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge to round things off. It could be the first time James, in particular, plays in front of his home fans since November 11. He stood out upon his return to the side against Forest, assisting Nicolas Jackson for the winner just minutes after coming on as a substitute.

The 24-year-old is now being tipped as a possible outsider to make Gareth Southgate's England squad for Euro 2024 having last appeared for his country in March 2023. He hasn't started a game for the Three Lions since September 2022.

"He's trained really well," Pochettino said of his captain. "Now we need to control the game time because we want him to finish the season really strong. I hope tomorrow he will have the possibility to play a little bit more [than he did vs Nottingham Forest]."