Christopher Nkunku could start for Chelsea in next week’s Carabao Cup semi-final match against Middlesbrough, and Mauricio Pochettino has said that three players are “so close” to returning from injuries.

Despite playing without Benoit Badiashile, Carney Chukwuemeka, and Ben Chilwell, Chelsea cruised to a 4-0 victory over Preston North End in Saturday night’s FA Cup third round match at Stamford Bridge.

As a precaution, Nkunku did not participate in the cup match because of a hip ιnjury he had in the days leading up to the match.

While speaking to media following the FA Cup triumph, Pochettino made it clear that he did not want to place any pressure on Nkunku.

We understand how challenging it is after a long ιnjury. It is never easy to have six months to prepare.Right now, he isn’t playing because he hurt his hip during Friday’s practice; we’ll have to wait to see if he’ll be able to play in the upcoming games. Yeah, that’s the issue.

People started to wonder if the France international would be out for three weeks. Fabrice Hawkins of RMC Sport put minds at ease when he said Nkunku’s hip ιnjury is “nothing serious” and that, barring setbacks, he should be fit to play next week against either Middlesbrough or Fulham.

Ben Chilwell and Carney Chukwuemeka, who were both sidelined for an extended period due to injuries, have since returned to their grass-court teammates at Cobham. The Argentine coach is being cautious with both players, much as he was with center back Benoit Badiashile.

According to Pochettino, “We need to see every day the evolution” despite how close he is to Badiashile, Chukwuemeka, and Chilwell. Then we’ll see if we can make any improvements; they’re really close.

Monitoring the players’ progress in practice and the level of rιsk they are willing to take are both crucial.

When they arrive at practice, every single one of the players feels prepared. While 99.9 percent of the time they are mistaken, they will claim “I know myself” if you ask them. Their sense of self is lacking.

“We think it’s a good idea to check their availability.”