Chelsea youngsters join training ahead of Brentford EFL Cup tie

Head coach Thomas Tuchel has taken the opportunity to take a look at a number of Chelsea's academy players.

The Blues have at least six players who will be absent for Wednesday's EFL Cup tie at Brentford due to coronavirus, with several other players said to be nursing injuries.

While Jorginho made a welcome return to training on Monday after his coronavirus status remained inconclusive, Tuchel took the chance to assess many of the club's prospects.

As well as Harvey Vale, which was confirmed by the club's official Twitter page, Goal journalist Nizaar Kinsella revealed that nine other players were present.

Josh Brooking, Alfie Gilchrist, Dion Rankine, Xavier Simons, Jay Wareham, Bryan Fiabema, Lewis Baker and Xavier Mbuyamba are all seemingly in contention for the fixture versus the Bees.

The fixture now appears likely to go ahead with the Premier League and EFL announcing a desire to continue with fixtures as they are currently scheduled.