Chelsea injury news: Blues handed notable boost ahead of key Pafos Champions League fixture

By Darren Plant | 19 Jan 2026 16:09

Chelsea handed notable injury boost ahead of key Pafos Champions League fixture

Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior has been handed a notable injury boost ahead of Wednesday's game with Pafos FC.

The Blues head into the showdown with the Cypriot outfit at Stamford Bridge sitting in 13th position in the League Phase standings of the Champions League.

Therefore, wins over Pafos and Napoli are required to have a chance of finishing inside the top eight and qualifying for the last 16 in the process.

Rosenior's first full week in charge of Chelsea was hindered by a number of injuries and a flu bug that has threatened to sweep through his squad.

While the likes of Reece James and Cole Palmer were able to return for Saturday's 2-0 win over Brentford, there were a number of absentees.

Chelsea player returns to training ahead of Pafos game

Malo Gusto, Jamie Gittens and Estevao Willian were all absent from the squad for the meeting with the Bees.

However, on Monday, Gusto was shown to be training with the rest of the squad at the club's Cobham training facilities.

The Frenchman has not been seen since playing 76 minutes of the 2-1 defeat at Fulham on January 7.

While Gusto is not a guaranteed first-choice pick, he has made 18 starts and eight substitute outings across a range of positions this season.

Why Gusto return represents major boost

Not only would Gusto being available represent a boost on its own, it would give Rosenior more options.

If Gusto is available to compete with Josh Acheampong at right-back, James could be rested after his exertions against Brentford.

Gusto also offers an option in central midfield at a time when Rosenior may consider resting Moises Caicedo or Enzo Fernandez when trips to Crystal Palace and Napoli are to follow.

Meanwhile, Rosenior hinted over the weekend that there were players who featured against Brentford who had shown flu symptoms. As a result, Gusto's return would increase the chances of those players being handed more recovery time.