That’s according to Graham Potter, who has detailed what the next fortnight holds for N’Golo. The midfielder’s season has been so severely disrupted by a hamstring injury suffered against Tottenham in August and understandably his return to the fold has been very carefully managed.

‘N’Golo is due to carry on training this week, and potentially with a game to get some minutes,’ Potter revealed.

‘That’s the plan there. The game will probably be internal. We need to control that as much as we can. But that will be good.

‘I think we’ve got about four players here,’ continued the head coach, with so many of our stars preparing to represent their nations.

‘We have got to hope the players come back injury free. And we will use the break to refresh and then prepare for a really hectic April.’

Potter too knows the importance of taking some time out. He plans to spend it with his family.

‘It’s important for me as the leader to gain some freshness and recharge the batteries. That’s sensible.

‘It’s been an intense few weeks. We have had a couple of decent weeks. Clearly we wanted to get the fourth win in a row and go into this international break with a victory.

‘We have to keep thinking about how we can move forward and what we have to do better.’

Reflecting on his time in charge of Chelsea so far, a period spanning more than six months now, Potter considered where progress has been made while such significant change has been happening on and off the pitch.

‘Stability, togetherness, spirit in the group has been a real positive over these tough months,’ he assessed.

‘Before the World Cup the intensity of the games and the injuries we were picking up was crazy.

‘The transfer window added noise but at the same time we’ve got a young group that are falling together well. Now there’s lots still to do.’