Chelsea have already been told which two players they must keep fit this season

Chelsea have already been told the two players they need to keep fit in the coming season.

The Blues are now closing in on the new season, which is now less than two weeks away, with pre-season preparations winding towards a close.

Thomas Tuchel’s men are spending their final days in Florda and the States, and they will next head to Italy to face Udinese, before returning home for the new campaign.

There will be a quiet optimism around Chelsea following the big-money signing of Raheem Sterling, but the Blues squad is still not complete.

Chelsea lost Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger this summer, and they have snapped up Kalidou Koulibaly, but they need another centre-back.

They will also feel they need a frontman after loaning Romelu Lukaku back to Inter Milan.

There is still plenty of work to do, but Chelsea will be hoping to at least close the gap on the top two in the coming season, while also putting together another Champions League run.

Tuchel’s men finished third last season, but they ended up 18 points behind second place, though there were mitigating circumstances.

The whole ownership situation threw the season into a tailspin, and the Blues also lost two cup finals.

But with the ownership situation resolved, fans will be hoping to see progress in the coming campaign.

And one of the keys to that, according to Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville, is keeping two key players fit.

“I think Chelsea have had a really good season considering,” Neville told The Overlap earlier this summer.

“I did the Carabao Cup final and they should have won that game it’s ridiculous. They had chances in the FA Cup final.

“I think the injuries to [Reece] James and to [Ben] Chilwell are big. I think obviously ownership problems are big.

“Losing to Real Madrid in the last 10 minutes… they could have been in such a different position.”

Chelsea do have Marcos Alonso as cover for Ben Chilwell and Cesar Azpilcieuta can cover James, though there is uncertainty surrounding the Spaniard’s future.