Liam Rosenior can unleash five Chelsea players against Arsenal for first time this season

Liam Rosenior has been given a massive boost on the injury front this week as his Chelsea side prepare for a tough challenge away at Arsenal on Sunday afternoon

Chelsea are looking to bounce back from two disappointing performances and results in the Premier League as they head to Arsenal on Sunday afternoon.

The Blues have dropped four points in their last two league matches, both of them at home against newly-promoted sides. A couple of weeks ago now, Liam Rosenior's side threw away a two-goal lead against Leeds United at Stamford Bridge and were forced to settle with a draw, before more recently conceding a stoppage time equaliser at home to Burnley after Chelsea were reduced to 10 men in the second half.

A different sort of challenge awaits the Blues on Sunday, with a trip to Premier League leaders Arsenal. Rosenior has already faced the Gunners twice since being appointed Blues head coach less than two months ago - and both of those games, the two legs of the Carabao Cup semi-final, ended in defeat.

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Rosenior will be hoping it is third time lucky as he goes head-to-head with Mikel Arteta once again and the Chelsea boss will be boosted by the return of Dario Essugo to first-team training this week. The Portugal Under-21 international is yet to feature this season because of numerous injuries after joining from Sporting CP last summer.

Essugo, though, is closing in on a return to action after training with the first-team squad in the last few days. We will hear more from Rosenior on Friday afternoon in his pre-Arsenal press conference on whether the 20-year-old is fit enough to be involved at the Emirates Stadium.

If so, Chelsea are expected to have their five central midfield options all fit at the same time, something that has not happened this season. If Essugo is available, he could join the likes of Romeo Lavia, Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo and Andrey Santos in the Chelsea squad in north London.

Lavia returned to the Blues squad for the first time in three-and-a-half months for the weekend's draw with Burnley. The 22-year-old midfielder did not get on the pitch but did record some competitive minutes 24 hours prior for Chelsea's Under-21s side.

As we enter the business end of the season, Rosenior will be desperate for as close to a fully fit squad as possible. With Essugo back in training, Chelsea are now missing a total of four players through injury.

Filip Jorgensen remains unavailable, as do Marc Cucurella and Jamie Gittens (both hamstring injuries). Levi Colwill is a long-term absentee after injuring his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) back in August. Rosenior is hopeful the 23-year-old England international will return before the end of the season.

When asked by football.london last week about Colwill and whether he will feature for the Blues between now and May, Rosenior replied: "I'm hopeful. I'm hopeful because he's an outstanding player. Again, no time frames.

"You have to take these long-term injuries day by day. And also, it's not about when he comes back, it's about him staying fit when he's back."

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