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Thomas Tuchel will be hoping to have trio Christian Pulisic, Kai Havertz and Romelu Lukaku at his disposal against Aston Villa on Saturday evening.

Chelsea host Dean Smith's side in their first game back after the international break and will be keen to extend their unbeaten start to the league campaign. 

After two wins against Crystal Palace and Arsenal, Chelsea drew their third fixture against Liverpool to make it seven points out of nine from their opening three games.

Villa are the team in town on Saturday - they have picked up four points from a possible nine.

With many internationals expected to return to Cobham in the latter part of the week, Tuchel has many selection decisions to make to ensure he puts the best team out possible to collect three points.

Here's the latest Chelsea injury news ahead of Aston Villa's visit to Stamford Bridge regarding Pulisic, Havertz and Lukaku:

Christian Pulisic

The 22-year-old contracted Covid-19 last month and was forced to miss Chelsea's win over Arsenal and draw against Liverpool. He was called up for national team selection with the USA, but missed their opening match against El Salvador. 

However he featured in the draw against Canada and is feeling 'pretty good' which is set to see him in contention to face Villa on Saturday.

"Obviously it was tough for me," Pulisic admitted after missing the USMNT's first game against El Salvador. "I wanted to be part of the team but I wasn’t 100 per cent ready.

"We made the decision to play today (against Canada) and I felt pretty good. It’s good to be back with the team and I just want to be here to help in whatever way I can."

Kai Havertz 

The Chelsea attacker picked up illness during international duty with Germany. He missed their 6-0 win over Armenia on Sunday due to flu, however it's not set to rule him out.

Hansi Flick gave a positive update, saying: "Kai has a mild flu-like infection but it’s not that bad."

Havertz could feature in their final match against Iceland on Wednesday, before returning to Chelsea in preparation for Aston Villa. A positive sign for Tuchel.

Romelu Lukaku

The 28-year-old is suspended for Belgium's final game of the international break against Belarus after collecting a yellow card during the 3-0 win over the Czech Republic.

But Lukaku picked up a 'minor issue' and will now go for scans prior to returning to Chelsea, which makes him a slight doubt for Aston Villa. 

Following their victory, he revealed: "I have been struggling with a minor issue for a while.

‘I’ll have a scan of my thigh first and then I will return to Chelsea."

More Chelsea Coverage

This article first appeared on FanNation Absolute Chelsea and was syndicated with permission.

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