Chelsea defender Wesley Fofana has returned to light training as he steps up his recovery from a serious knee injury.
The centre-back has been sidelined since the summer after undergoing anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction surgery.
The setback was a significant blow to the Frenchman, who missed a significant part of the 2022-23 campaign due to injury.
Fofana was restricted to 22 competitive appearances in his first season since joining Chelsea in a £70m move from Leicester City in 2022.
There were fears that the Frenchman's latest injury would keep him out of action for the entirety of the 2023-24 season.
© Reuters
However, Fofana has now given Chelsea a boost after he stepped up his rehabilitation with a return to light training on Thursday.
Chelsea shared pictures of Fofana in light training via their social media channels, with the posts including the caption "back on the grass".
The 22-year-old was seen greeting and speaking to Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino, while he was also pictured running in the images shared on Twitter and Instagram.
The France international documented the positive step with his own Instagram post, which contained the caption "back on track".
Back on the grass.🏃♂️ pic.twitter.com/p00a04cMBU
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) November 23, 2023
While Fofana appears to be making progress in his recovery, it still remains unclear when he will be ready to return to full training.
Pochettino is having to cope without a number of other injury absentees, including Ben Chilwell, Trevoh Chalobah, Carney Chukwuemeka and Marcus Bettinelli.
Levi Colwill, Malo Gusto, Romeo Lavia and Christopher Nkunku are also doubts for Saturday's away clash with Newcastle United.
The Blues, who have lost just one of their six league games, are currently in 10th place after collecting 16 points from 12 games.
