Chelsea goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez took part in team training on Tuesday ahead of his possible return in Sunday's Premier League clash with Sunderland.
After the convincing 2-0 win over Manchester United on Saturday and some well-deserved rest, the Blues are back to work at Cobham on Tuesday.
Both goalscorers against Man United, Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers, were present in training, and, a pleasant surprise, so was Martinez.
The Argentina international missed the last three games after needing surgery for a fractured jaw that he sustained in Chelsea 's win at Everton a couple of weeks ago.
The goalkeeper continued to train individually post-surgery, but he has joined his Chelsea teammates in the gym, which is a positive development. That said, Martinez does not seem to have received the green light to be on the training pitch yet.
Xabi Alonso previously hinted at Martinez's possible return for the trip to Sunderland , which would likely require the player to wear a face mask. However, an official confirmation would have to wait until Alonso's usual press conference on Friday afternoon.
Martinez has also been called up by Argentina for their upcoming friendly games against Uruguay and Costa Rica , alongside fellow Blues Valentin Barco and Aaron Anselmino. For Anselmino, in particular, this is his first senior call-up with the national team.
The young defender was not seen in Tuesday's training, at least from the photos shared by the club. However, Alonso previously confirmed that Anselmino is still recovering from multiple injuries that have prevented him from making an appearance so far this season.
Barco, meanwhile, took part in training, alongside several others, including Levi Colwill, Josh Acheampong, Malo Gusto, Romeo Lavia, Pep Chavarria, Mike Penders, Estevao Willian, and Geovany Quenda.
Chelsea have quite an extensive injury list, with eight players listed, but a few of them could be available to face Sunderland .
As mentioned, Martinez is among the possible returnees, alongside Jorrel Hato and Jordan Henderson. Hato and Jordan missed last weekend's win over Man United due to a back injury and illness, respectively.
Marco Palestra, and later Pep Chavarria, filled in at left-back against Man United in Hato's absence, and without Henderson, Alonso deployed Romeo Lavia, who played arguably his best performance for Chelsea, in central midfield alongside Moises Caicedo.
Lavia, who has only made five Premier League starts this season, will certainly hope to retain his spot in the starting XI after such a convincing display.
This is also the case for Estevao, who made his first Premier League start last weekend. The Brazil international was very unfortunate not to get on the scoresheet after causing so many problems for Man United's defence.
Of course, Penders has also showed remarkable improvement in goal and arguably deserves to keep his spot despite Martinez's potential return.
