CHELSEA COULD yet hand their €20.7 million right-back Jose Bosingwa a surprise debut in Sunday's Premier League opener against Portsmouth after the Portugal defender returned early to training following the thigh injury sustained on the club's pre-season tour of Asia.

Bosingwa, signed from Porto earlier in the summer, hobbled from the turf after just 19 minutes of the club's opening friendly against Guangzhou Pharmaceutical last month. He promptly returned home from the tour for treatment at the club's Cobham base and had been expected to miss up to a month, apparently ruling him out until the visit of Tottenham Hotspur on August 31st.

Yet the full-back joined his team-mates as they were put through their paces in front of 14,000 supporters at Stamford Bridge yesterday and played a full part in training routines. No decision has been made as to whether he will face Pompey, though Luiz Felipe Scolari and his coaching staff are optimistic.

Didier Drogba, who has been suffering with a knee injury since returning for pre-season, has yet to participate fully with his team-mates as he continues his rehabilitation and is expected to be out until the end of the month at the earliest.

Chelsea remain optimistic that they will be able to sign the unsettled Brazil international Robinho from Real Madrid before the closure of the transfer window, with dialogue continuing between the clubs despite the Spaniards' public insistence that the forward would remain at the Bernabeu. That stance is likely to yield, possibly before the end of the week.

Florent Malouda has indicated that he hopes to remain at the club despite Roma having expressed an interest in him.

Steve Sidwell, Tal Ben Haim and Claude Makelele have all departed and could be followed by the Peruvian striker Claudio Pizarro who is attracting interest from Hull City.

Guardian Service