Sam Hutchinson, the 19-year-old defender who made his first team debut in the final game of the 2006/7 season, returned to action on Friday after 11 months out through injury.

He played 30 minutes of the reserve team's 2-0 defeat away to Liverpool in a friendly fixture, his comeback following knee surgery.

Hutchinson had been involved throughout the first team's pre-season in 2006 and was the reserve team captain before his injury problem.

The game against Liverpool was part of a double-header of friendly fixtures, aimed, in similar fashion to recent games against Man United, at giving experience to young players against the best of their contemporaries around the country.

The return match will take place at Cobham on Saturday 25 October.

In the game played at Liverpool's Academy, Chelsea went down to two first-half goals, Michael Woods having had an earlier shot saved and Franco Di Santo failing to take a couple of opportunites before the break.

'We made a good start,' reports reserve team manager Brendan Rodgers. 'The first 20 minutes we played well but then as soon as we conceded the first goal, which was a poor one to give away, we were disappointing after that.

'We were a bit subdued, for whatever reason, and we had set a real high standard during pre-season and at the start of the season.

'There wasn't too much in it between the two teams but we conceded disappointing goals and we were never at the level we set ourselves over the last couple of months.

'These games let the players know that if they don't perform well, these results happen and they need to keep working hard. These games are played to continue our development and we will be better next time we play.'

Chelsea Niclas Heimann; Nana Ofori-Twumasi (Sam Hutchinson), Michael Mancienne, Jeffrey Bruma, Carl Magnay; Jacob Mellis (Sergio Tejera), Liam Bridcutt, Michael Woods; Fabio Paim (Morten Nielsen), Franco Di Santo, Miroslav Stoch.

On Saturday 4 October, Chelsea Reserves take on a young AC Milan side at Cobham in a game that can be viewed live on Chelsea TV from 10.45am.