Chelsea receive injury boost as Radamel Falcao has returned to first team training

Chelsea have received major injury boost as on-loan striker Radamel Falcao has returned to first team training. The Colombian international hasn’t featured for the Blues since October. Manager Guus Hiddink has confirmed that the 30-year old has been training with the team for more than a week.

“He has been training for more than a week and is growing in his physical fitness,” Hiddink said. “Falcao was out for a long time. With increased intensity in training, he hasn’t picked up a setback, which is encouraging.”

Falcao’s spell at Stamford Bridge has been hugely disappointing, and he has managed to score just one league goal this season. However, his form hasn’t been helped by the lack of opportunities as he has managed to start only one league game for the Blues since joining the club in the summer.

He might get playing opportunities in near future as the club’s leading striker Diego Costa is facing a retrospective ban for his actions during the Blues’ FA Cup defeat to Everton. The Spanish international appeared to bite Toffees midfielder Gareth Barry on his neck before he was given his marching orders by referee Michael Oliver at Goodison Park on Saturday.

He is already serving a one-match suspension, and according to The Times, the banned could be increased by one-to-two more games for his antics during the game. He appeared to shout at the referee on two separate occasions during the game and also reportedly made a V-sign to the Everton fans while marching off the pitch after receiving the red card.

Meanwhile, he is expected to escape punishment for the biting incident as the FA have found him not guilty and have concluded that there was bite as Costa and Barry confronted each other during the final stages of the game.

Barry himself has confirmed that the Brazilian-born striker did not sink his teeth into his neck. “Seen a lot of talk about the incident involving me and Diego Costa in the game last night. For the record Diego did not bite me,” Barry told the Fanzai app.

The Blues have crashed out of Champions League and FA Cup during the past week and now only have the Premier League games to concentrate on as the season draws closer to an end.
Guus Hiddink might decide to give opportunities to fringe and youth players during the final stages of the league season.