by Enzo Maresca has opened the door for Ben Chilwell to revive his Chelsea career, suggesting the exiled defender is close to returning to training with the rest of his first-team squad.
Chilwell was among a group of players left out of Maresca’s plans this summer as the new manager looked to slim down a bloated squad.
The England international has spent most of his training away from the main squad as the club explore options for his departure.
But a proposed loan move to the Turkish Super League failed to materialise, seemingly leaving the England international in limbo, at least until the transfer window reopens in January.
Speaking on Friday ahead of the weekend’s trip to Bournemouth, however, Maresca hinted that the 27-year-old could now be welcomed back into the squad.
“Ben is now the only one [of the exiled group] “He’s still here, so we’ll probably sit down with him and find a solution,” Maresca said. “He’ll probably come back with us to the training sessions. At the moment, he’s not training with us.”
“The reason he is training on the sidelines is because the idea was for him to leave. But since we have not found a solution, he is here and he will probably start training with us. We have to decide on that. If we decide, he will be one of our players.”
Chilwell made just nine Premier League starts under Mauricio Pochettino during an injury-plagued campaign last season and was left out of England’s Euro 2024 squad.
He has not featured in a single Chelsea squad this season and was also left out of the Blues’ squad for the Conference League group stage earlier this month, although he could still be included in a 25-man Premier League squad due to be confirmed on Friday.
