Sonia Bompastor does not expect to have any of the injured members of the Chelsea squad fit for Friday evening's clash with Manchester United, but did have some good news about how Lucy Bronze, Lauren James and Niamh Charles are progressing.
Marc Skinner's side sit just two points beneath Chelsea in the Women's Super League table, having taken 10 points from their opening four matches. This sets Friday's game up to be a fascinating fixture between two in-form teams.
While Bompastor still has players returning to fitness, she confirmed the key trio is almost ready to get back on the grass.
'We have some players who have been progressing with their rehab plans,' confirmed the boss. 'So some of them are returning to the pitch. Lucy is one of them, as is LJ, and also Niamh Charles.
'So yeah, I think we have some positive and good news. They are going in the right direction, so it's good, because as a manager, you always want to have your players available.
'This weekend will be too soon for them, but hopefully they’ll be ready in the next few weeks.'
Despite having players out of contention for the weekend, Bompastor feels confident she has the squad to compete at the highest level.
When it comes to preparing for matches, Bompastor also explained how her focus is centred on her own team, as opposed to scrutinising each opponent's possible strengths.
'First of all, in my mind, we play more of a back three than a back five, because we always want to be going into every game and having a mindset of going forward and attacking the game,' Bompastor confirmed.
'I will always go into every game with the rationale of thinking what is best for our team in terms of system, also in terms of personnel and individual players.
'Sometimes it also depends on the opposition, but the focus is always more on my team than the opposition. I think we can bring unpredictability in terms of the system to every game, but also in terms of having different profiles. The main thing is always about the players who are the best prepared to start the game and to make an impact.
'I think we have proved since last season and even going into this new season, the team is always the most important, and we have the depth in the squad to even make some substitutions during the game to make a big impact.'