Chelsea handed huge boost as Cole Palmer returns to training ahead of Aston Villa game

Cole Palmer returned to Chelsea training at Cobham on Thursday having missed the heavy defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates.

Palmer was back training with his team-mates following a bout of illness after the FA Cup semi final, as the Blues prepare for Saturday night’s trip to Aston Villa.

Ahead of facing Arsenal, Mauricio Pochettino urged Chelsea to show they weren’t “Cole Palmer FC,” which somewhat backfired following their capitulation in north London.

Cole Palmer returns to training

Palmer has been sensational for Chelsea this season, following his summer move from Manchester City, and has been the Blues main source of goals, scoring 25 in all competitions, with 20 coming in the Premier League.

His form has also seen him earn his first two England caps, and he looks to have given himself a brilliant chance of making Gareth Southgate’s final squad the Euros this summer.

Pochettino will no doubt reveal more on the 21-year-old’s fitness in his pre match press conference on Friday.

Reece James, Levi Colwill and Christopher Nkunku were spotted taking part in training as well, as the trio step up their recovery from injury.

Chelsea head to Villa Park sitting ninth in the table, three points behind Newcastle in seventh, and six behind Manchester United in sixth, but do have a game in hand on their rivals for European qualification.

Chelsea know they need a win to realistically keep their hopes of qualifying for Europe alive, and will be desperate to produce a response after what happened on Tuesday night.

The pressure is on the Argentine after another disappointing campaign for the Stamford Bridge outfit, with the next two games, Villa and Tottenham season defining for the club’s chance of playing in Europe.

Another loss on Saturday could