Xabi Alonso will take his Blues side to Craven Cottage to play Fulham next Monday 24 August, and the build-up to that game has begun in earnest.

The manager explained after our win against Real Sociedad at the Bridge on Saturday what the plan was before our league opener, factoring in that several players have only recently returned to training following their nations' prolonged involvement at the World Cup.

‘Most of the players are fit to train,' said Alonso.

'The fitness levels of some are higher than others after pre-season, but all of them will be good. We plan to have five training sessions before the Fulham game now and that’s the main focus.’

The first of those took place in overcast conditions on Tuesday, with our photographer on hand to capture the session...