The long wait of 17 days without a Chelsea match is nearly over, with the Blues back in action after the international break in a big Premier League fixture against London rivals Spurs at Stamford Bridge on Thursday evening.

Enzo Maresca was working with his squad at Cobham on Wednesday to put the finishing touches on their preparations for that game, bathed in the springtime Surrey sun.

Among those in action on the training pitch were attacking trio Cole Palmer, Noni Madueke and Nicolas Jackson, and Maresca confirmed earlier in the day all three should be available to face Tottenham.

‘Cole is back, he is ok. He is better. Noni is better and Nico is better. They are all good,’ said Enzo during his pre-match press conference before training on Wednesday.

‘It is very good to have them back. We have said many times that this is a game for the players, and when they are not there for different reasons, you struggle.

‘It’s exactly what happened to us this season, we had six unbelievable months and then six or seven injuries in a row. Then we lost something. But it will be good to finish with all of them.’

Their return is especially welcome for our head coach before this derby fixture, which he feels could be doubly important in helping build some momentum as our bid for Champions League qualification reaches the business end of the season.

‘It’s a huge game, it’s big,’ he added. ‘We know how important it is for the fans and the club, but it’s also important for us to finish where we are now. It would be a huge achievement in this moment for us.

‘From a win you can build momentum until the end of the season, but from now on every game is important and they all mean three points. So we have to win as many as we can and then we will see where we can finish.’