Chelsea Team News: Conte Confirms New Signing Could Make Debut Against Norwich

Chelsea will be looking to climb up to second position in the table when they take on Leicester City at Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon.

Antonio Conte has been speaking to the media at his pre-match press conference this afternoon and he’s offered a team news and injury update ahead of the game.

The Blues boss was pleased to confirm that new signing Ross Barkley has been working hard in training as he looks to make his first appearance of the 2017/18 Premier League season.

Barkley failed to feature for Everton during the first half of the campaign after undergoing surgery on his hamstring during the summer but returned to training shortly before securing a £15m move to Stamford Bridge last week.

The 24-year-old is unlikely to be involved against Leicester this weekend but Conte has suggested that Barkley could make his debut for the club during their FA Cup replay with Norwich next week.

The Chelsea boss told reporters:

Conte on when Ross Barkley will be handed his Chelsea debut: "I am clear [about when he'll play]. I think that, maybe, in the next game against Norwich he could be available. I hope. If he continues in this way, why not? He's not ready 100 per cent but he could start to help us."

— Vaishali Bhardwaj (@VaiBhardwaj) January 12, 2018

Otherwise, Chelsea have no further injury problems to deal with following the midweek draw with Arsenal as Eden Hazard came through the Carabao Cup game unscathed after a recent knock.

David Luiz also made his return to action last weekend after recovering from a serious knee injury so Conte has virtually a fully-fit squad to choose from this weekend.

Chelsea head in to the Leicester game sitting third in the table but they can leapfrog Man Utd in to second with a win ahead of their clash with Stoke on Monday night.