Chelsea receive injury boost with key midfielder

Chelsea are expected to have the services of midfielder Ross Barkley ahead of their Premier League game against Tottenham Hotspur next month.

The England international joined the Blues from Everton in a £15m deal in January, and he has since managed just 130 minutes of first-team football.

Barkley missed the first-half of the season with the Toffees with a hamstring problem, and the same has happened to affect his involvement with Chelsea over the past month.

According to The Telegraph, the midfielder is set to get the all-clear to return to first-team action, and Antonio Conte is aiming to involve him for the final part of the season.

Chelsea are still in the hunt for a top-four finish in the Premier League alongside a semi-final berth in the FA Cup, and Barkley could potentially make a valuable contribution off the bench.

However, his chances of a World Cup spot look very slim after Gareth Southgate confirmed that the midfielder may only be considered post the global tournament in Russia.