Armando Broja is going to return to training tomorrow with Chelsea’s U21 team.
The striker has been out since last last year when he picked up a serious knee injury in a pre World Cup friendly against Aston Villa.
The first team aren’t returning from their holidays for two more weeks, but this gives Broja an extra chance to get up to speed after so long out. He will want to meet Mauricio Pochettino for training on the 1st of July for the first time with enough in his legs to make a good impression.
The Evening Standard’s Nizaar Kinsella reports that Broja’s desire to come back strong from a cruciate injury means he’s going to try and get a head start on everyone else. The U21 team are at a training camp in Portugal, so one can be sure he’s not going to be badly treated out there. It will probably be especially nice to have plenty of company too, after what must have been a rather solitary 9 months or injury rehab.
These few weeks of preseason could be particularly important for players like Broja, who are keen to impress their new coach and perhaps change plans about whether the academy product is loaned out or not. There will be a striker signed this summer without doubt, but if he can impress Poch, he could well be counted on as a regular backup, fulfilling the role he was getting midway through last season when his unfortunate injury cropped up.
