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Chelsea celebrate Cole Palmer's goal against Brighton(Image: Adrian Dennis/AFP)
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Over the course of the next couple of days, Chelsea's international stars will begin to return to the club's Cobham base to begin preparations for Saturday afternoon's clash with Bournemouth.
That's right, the three-week international break is all but over. The Blues welcome the Cherries to Stamford Bridge in just a few days' time, with Xabi Alonso hoping for a drastic improvement from his players in what can be defined as the second chunk of the season.
Chelsea had a total of 12 first-team stars representing their nations over the current break and the majority of them are likely to return on Thursday.
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Geovany Quenda, Morgan Rogers, Josh Acheampong, Mike Penders, Jorrel Hato, Romeo Lavia, Maxence Lacroix and Pedro Neto are all set to return to Chelsea training this week, most likely on Thursday. It is worth noting, though, that players can return earlier/later depending on their schedule.
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South American trio Estevao Willian (Brazil), Emiliano Martinez and Valentin Barco (both Argentina) are set to be treated with more care. As is usually the case for South American players, they arrive back in the UK later than their European colleagues.
Estevao's situation is a bit of a weird one. Brazil's second and final game of the international break came on Saturday, but it was in India. The Brazil squad beat India 4-0 in Kolkata after they travelled from Australia the day prior.
So, Estevao has had some time to recover but the air miles will have undoubtedly taken their toll on the Chelsea youngster. Either way, he should have plenty of time to get himself ready for the visit of Bournemouth on Saturday afternoon.
Estevao Willian celebrates
Estevao Willian celebrates scoring for Brazil against India(Image: Samir Jana/Hindustan Times)
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However, the likes of Martinez and Barco have been gearing up for a monumental occasion in Argentinian footballing history. Lionel Messi's farewell match took place in the early hours of this morning (UK time), meaning the Chelsea duo will probably not train until Friday.
That also means that Martinez and Barco are set to have just the one session with their club colleagues pre-Bournemouth. It's far from ideal preparation as far as Alonso is concerned but the Blues manager will be hoping the two can re-adapt to life in England seamlessly ahead of the weekend.
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