Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte has insisted that he will not rush the return of Danny Drinkwater, despite the club's recent injuries in midfield.
Conte has suggested that he may only have one midfielder - Cesc Fabregas - available for the Premier League clash with Watford, but the Italian is not tempted to hand a playing role to Drinkwater.
The summer signing is yet to make his debut since joining from Leicester City and although Conte has revealed that the England international is "progressing well", there is no possibility of an early return.
The 48-year-old told reporters: "Danny is progressing well, now he has started to work, not with us but he has started to work in a part of the session with us. Now it is important for him to progress well, to improve his physical condition, he is progressing well.
"It is important to recover him well, if I try to put him on the pitch without good fitness it is a risk to have another injury.
"Maybe after 34-35 days we must have patience and wait for the right moment. He is frustrated because he wants to play."
N'Golo Kante is out until November with a hamstring problem, while David Luiz and Tiemoue Bakayoko both sustained injuries during Wednesday's 3-3 draw with Roma.
Darren Plant
