Chelsea given huge injury boost as forgotten man spotted ahead of Aston Villa

Levi Colwill has returned to Chelsea training at Cobham ahead of the Blues' Premier League meeting with Aston Villa this weekend.

The 21-year-old defender has not featured for Chelsea since the 2-2 draw away at Brentford last month because of a toe injury. However, ahead of Chelsea's trip to Villa Park on Saturday evening, Colwill has been pictured doing some work with the rest of his teammates at Cobham.

Colwill has played over 2600 minutes for the Blues in all competitions this season and has been used at left-back for a lot of that time. His natural position, however, is in the centre of defence and will be hoping to be used there in the remainder of the season under Mauricio Pochettino.

Meanwhile, Reece James can also be spotted working with the rest of the Chelsea group. The Blues' captain has been sidelined since December after having surgery on his hamstring.

While Pochettino will be keen to get the defensive duo back as soon as possible, he will be cautious about how he reintroduces them. James recently returned to do some individual work on the grass at Cobham but the latest images show him taking part in some semi-competitive action with his teammates.

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Lesley Ugochukwu, another one who has been missing since December, was also spotted on the grass in Surrey. Ugochukwu, who played just over 600 minutes for Chelsea in all competitions prior to his injury, looks like another one who is close to returning to first-team action.

Chelsea travel to Aston Villa on Saturday evening as they look to respond to the 5-0 humiliation they went through on Tuesday