That is testament to the strength of her squad and, ahead of the table-toppers taking on ninth-placed Everton – and aiming to continue a run of eight straight league wins against the Toffees – Hayes can add one more name to those available.

The Chelsea manager has also hinted that she would be willing to give more playing time to her newest signing, Mayra Ramirez, if required. The striker made her debut as a second-half substitute in last weekend’s league outing.

• Tickets for Sunday's game are available

Melanie Leupolz did not make the trip for Tuesday’s 4-0 win against Paris FC but Hayes on Friday afternoon delivered good news about the midfielder.

‘Melanie is back in the squad,’ she explained. ‘Ann-Katrin Berger, Cat Macario, and Millie Bright are still injured.

‘Mayra is a player who's been playing club games so she is certainly available for selection. We are trying to hurry up the work in the background to make sure she understands things like our terminology.

'There's a language within our game model that she's learning but it won't come quickly.

‘She was having lunch with Sjoeke Nusken and Maika Hamano which was hilarious because it was a silent conversation.

'Myra doesn't speak English, Maika doesn't speak Spanish, Sjoeke doesn't speak Spanish, but I said to them it doesn't matter because you all speak football, and they all nodded their heads.

‘It requires minimal conversation with top players and, of course, Mayra's going to be crucial for us. I don't think there will be the usual bedding-in period that you might get with some players. That's because she's already been through half of the season anyway, like Nat Bjorn. They're fit and ready to go.’

Bjorn was Chelsea's other mid-season signing. The defender has already started two league games and if selected on Sunday will face the team she joined us from.

Hayes is pleased with the start the Sweden international has made to her Chelsea career and added: ‘It doesn't surprise us. We knew that a couple of years ago she had all the qualities to succeed here but the difference now is she's got the experience in the WSL and that's massive. You can't underestimate that.

‘That has helped her transition into our team. She has got a nice charisma too, she is cheeky and a great communicator, always giving information to the lines behind and in front which is really helpful. I'm looking forward to how she builds on this start.’

Hayes is also looking forward to a February full of home games for her in-form side, which has won seven straight matches and scored at least three goals in all but one of them.

‘To have four games on the bounce at home is going to be great. It is nice not to travel, nice to be home with our fans. We love Kingsmeadow, it is a brilliant pitch and the players absolutely love being there.

‘There's a lot of confidence in the performances and it looks like everybody's clear on their roles and expectations, and they're delivering. The whole squad is playing well and getting minutes and that's half the battle. You have to give enough playing time, otherwise it can get difficult to manage.

‘I'm generous with playing time, I trust players but sometimes we have to have more consistency with some line-ups than we do other weeks. But it shows the quality of the players that midweek we were able to make the changes we did and it was seamless.’