As is customary before UEFA competition matches, the first 15 minutes of training was open to the media at Cobham today as preparations for our Champions League return stepped up a notch.
A group of 22 players trained at Cobham this morning as Frank Lampard put his side through their paces ahead of our Champions League opener against Valencia on Tuesday, though Antonio Rudiger was absent following his half-time withdrawal at Wolves.
The German started for the first time this season at Molineux after recovering from the knee injury sustained late last season, though he was replaced at the break by Kurt Zouma, with Lampard explaining afterwards that the centre-back had troubled a problem in his groin late in the first half.
Emerson Palmieri and Ruben Loftus-Cheek were the other members of our Champions League A List squad to miss out on training ahead of matchday one, although there was better news with the sight of N’Golo Kante, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Reece James joining the main group from the start.
Teenager Marc Guehi deputised for Rudiger having been listed among our young player B list alongside Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham, James and Hudson-Odoi, who all trained on an overcast morning in Surrey. The first 15 minutes of the session were open to the media and saw the players take part in a series of warm-up drills and a particularly lively set of rondos.
Lampard and Kepa Arrizabalaga will be speaking to the media later today to discuss the visit of Valencia. The boss will likely use that opportunity to provide a fitness update on Rudiger.
See below for some of the best images from training...