Chelsea will remain without Reece James, Armando Broja and Benoit Badiashile for their clash with Bournemouth with Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo in contention after international duty in South America.

Pochettino still contending with a string of injury problems (Picture: Getty)

Pochettino is without eight members of his squad with Trevoh Chalobah, Carney Chukwuemeka, Wesley Fofana and Christopher Nkunku also sidelined.

Club captain James suffered a hamstring injury in training following the opening game of the season against Liverpool with his manager initially explaining he would miss ‘a few weeks’. A month later however the 23-year-old remains absent from the squad.

Speaking ahead of Sunday’s clash with Bournemouth, Pochettino was unable to put a firm timeline on his return but hopes to have him back before October’s international break.

‘He’s recovering well,’ Pochettino said on Friday. ‘I can’t say if he is close or not but we assess him every day.

‘He is starting to do things on the pitch with the ball. He’s really well. He is really well. He’s desperate to return and help the team. I hope he’s close and hope he can be available before the next international break.’

Fernandez and Caicedo started both World Cup qualifiers for Argentina and Ecuador respectively during the international break with both making long trips back to London this week.

Fernandez was on target for Argentina midweek (Picture: Getty)

Pochettino believes Fernandez will be available to start on Sunday but was less certain on Caicedo’s inclusion.

‘We saw them today and he is in a good mood,’ Pochettino said of the pair.‘He [Enzo] scored against Bolivia, I think he will be ready. Moises is a bit later than Enzo. So we will need to assess him but we hope so [he’s ready].’

Armando Broja and Benoit Badiashile are edging closer to their respective returns but Sunday’s trip to Bournemouth will come too soon for the pair with the visit of Aston Villa on 24 September a more likely return date.

Summer signing Lavia meanwhile suffered an ankle injury in training this week with reports suggesting he is facing six weeks out.

The 19-year-old is still to make his debut following his £58million move from Southampton with Pochettino unable to confirm how long the midfielder will be unavailable for.

‘I think we are really disappointed because he was training really well. He twisted his ankle and now we are waiting for Monday to get the assessment from the doctor.

‘It’s a sad situation because he was nearly fit enough to be involved in the game with the team. We don’t know [how long] because we need to assess him.’