A KAI HAVERTZ hat-trick was overshadowed by an injury scare for Wesley Fofana as Chelsea beat Brentford 5-1 in a friendly behind closed doors.
Centre-back Fofana “looked upset” as he went off crocked just a week before the Blues resume their Premier League campaign at home to Bournemouth on December 27.
But the extent of the former Leicester star’s problem has not been revealed.
Meanwhile, Reece James confirmed his recovery from a knee injury that kept the Chelsea wing-back out of England‘s World Cup squad.
James played an hour of the warm-up game against the Bees, which was played over THREE 45-minute periods.
But Blues’ midfielder Mason Mount was missing following the Three Lions’ mentally and physically exhausting run to the quarter-finals in Qatar.
READ MORE IN FOOTBALL
TRANSFER LATEST
Wolves AGREE Cunha deal, Liverpool ‘CONFIDENT’ in Bellingham race
XMAS CHEER
Most popular Christmas slot games 2022 — check out our top 10 favourite slots
Most of Chelsea’s World Cup stars are thought to be back in training.
And some featured alongside youngsters against Brentford in a specially-extended match designed to boost fitness.
The treble from Havertz followed his impressive double off the bench in Germany’s final World Cup game.
The former Bayer Leverkusen struck twice in 12 minutes as a 4-2 win over Costa Rica failed to save the Germans from a shock group exit.
Most read in Sport
HOW TO GET FREE BETS ON FOOTBALL
And the 23-year-old again boosted his chances of more regular starts under Stamford Bridge chief Graham Potter with the star role for his club on Tuesday.
The concern over Fofana comes after striker Armando Broja was ruled out for possibly the rest of the season due to an injury in last week’s 1-0 friendly victory over Aston Villa in Abu Dhabi.
The Albanian, 21, needed surgery for a ruptured cruciate ligament.
Next
