{"id":5424,"date":"2026-05-07T14:45:44","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T14:45:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=5424"},"modified":"2026-05-07T14:45:44","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T14:45:44","slug":"trained-fully-calum-mcfarlane-gives-update-on-chelsea-stars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=5424","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;Trained fully&#8221; &#8211; Calum McFarlane gives update on Chelsea stars"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<!-- Article Start --><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Chelsea could see a significant improvement to their team on Saturday, with two start players capable of starting the game.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>If you enjoy Chelsea News coverage and want to see more of it, add us as a preferred source on Google to make us a favourite and see more of our content.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Calum McFarlane is taking his press conference ahead of Chelsea\u2019s game against Liverpool on Saturday, and the priority today was injury updates on two potential starters.<\/p>\n<p>Levi Colwill made his return this week for the first time since last season after recovering from an ACL injury. Meanwhile Reece James has missed more than a month with a hamstring problem.<\/p>\n<p>According to McFarlane, both are close:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve got a few lads returning,\u201d the interim coach said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLevi and Reece have trained a full week. It\u2019s looking promising. We\u2019ve still got another session \u2013 they both trained fully today.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>James and Colwill could both start against Liverpool<\/h2>\n<p>It\u2019s really touch and go on both of them it seems. Colwill got 45 minutes on Monday, which on the one hand brings up his match fitness but on the other probably limits the number of minutes he can play.<\/p>\n<p>James didn\u2019t get on the pitch, but has been close enough to a start now for long enough that we\u2019d imagine he\u2019s ready.<\/p>\n<p>At this stage, our best guess is that they both start and aim for 60 minutes.<\/p>\n<h2>In other news\u2026<\/h2>\n<p>After a game on Monday, it\u2019s a short week to the match on Saturday \u2013 and McFarlane didn\u2019t give out any days off this week.<\/p>\n<p>Chelsea have players on loan they\u2019re not sure what to do with \u2013 chief among them a South American wonderkid.<\/p>\n<p><strong>DOWNLOAD THE OFFICIAL CHELSEA NEWS APP FOR ALL THE LATEST UPDATES \u2013 STRAIGHT TO YOUR PHONE! ON THE APP STORE<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>Check out the latest edition of Simon Phillips\u2019 SPTC podcast here:<\/em><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"SPTC Podcast: Chelsea Reporter Lloyd Canfield joins the show!\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/7UP6ox8d4pk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<section class=\"more-stories std-mgn-b\">&#13;<\/p>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<header class=\"col-s-12 std-mgn-t\">More Stories about <span class=\"topic\">Levi Colwill<\/span><\/header>\n<div class=\"post-container col-s-4\">\n<p>\t\t\t&#13;<\/p>\n<div class=\"img-cntr\"><picture><source type=\"image\/webp\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/icdn.chelsea.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Calum-McFarlane-speaks-to-Chelsea-TV-190x107.jpg.webp 190w,https:\/\/icdn.chelsea.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Calum-McFarlane-speaks-to-Chelsea-TV-245x138.jpg.webp 245w,https:\/\/icdn.chelsea.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Calum-McFarlane-speaks-to-Chelsea-TV-320x180.jpg.webp 320w,https:\/\/icdn.chelsea.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Calum-McFarlane-speaks-to-Chelsea-TV-414x233.jpg.webp 414w,https:\/\/icdn.chelsea.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Calum-McFarlane-speaks-to-Chelsea-TV-630x354.jpg.webp 630w\" data-sizes=\"(min-width:1230px) 250px, (min-width:1020px) 20vw, (min-width:920px) 290px, (min-width:680px) 30vw, (min-width:394px) 130px, 33vw\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"3840\" height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/icdn.chelsea.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Calum-McFarlane-speaks-to-Chelsea-TV.jpg\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-159988 has-webp lazyload\" alt=\"Calum McFarlane speaks to Chelsea TV.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/icdn.chelsea.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Calum-McFarlane-speaks-to-Chelsea-TV-190x107.jpg 190w,https:\/\/icdn.chelsea.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Calum-McFarlane-speaks-to-Chelsea-TV-245x138.jpg 245w,https:\/\/icdn.chelsea.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Calum-McFarlane-speaks-to-Chelsea-TV-320x180.jpg 320w,https:\/\/icdn.chelsea.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Calum-McFarlane-speaks-to-Chelsea-TV-414x233.jpg 414w,https:\/\/icdn.chelsea.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Calum-McFarlane-speaks-to-Chelsea-TV-630x354.jpg 630w\" data-sizes=\"(min-width:1230px) 250px, (min-width:1020px) 20vw, (min-width:920px) 290px, (min-width:680px) 30vw, (min-width:394px) 130px, 33vw\"\/><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"post-container col-s-4\">\n<p>\t\t\t&#13;<\/p>\n<div class=\"img-cntr\"><picture><source type=\"image\/webp\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/icdn.chelsea.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Levi-Colwill-comes-on-at-half-time-for-Chelsea-190x225.jpg.webp 190w,https:\/\/icdn.chelsea.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Levi-Colwill-comes-on-at-half-time-for-Chelsea-245x290.jpg.webp 245w,https:\/\/icdn.chelsea.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Levi-Colwill-comes-on-at-half-time-for-Chelsea-320x379.jpg.webp 320w,https:\/\/icdn.chelsea.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Levi-Colwill-comes-on-at-half-time-for-Chelsea-414x491.jpg.webp 414w,https:\/\/icdn.chelsea.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Levi-Colwill-comes-on-at-half-time-for-Chelsea-630x747.jpg.webp 630w\" data-sizes=\"(min-width:1230px) 250px, (min-width:1020px) 20vw, (min-width:920px) 290px, (min-width:680px) 30vw, (min-width:394px) 130px, 33vw\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1728\" height=\"2048\" src=\"https:\/\/icdn.chelsea.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Levi-Colwill-comes-on-at-half-time-for-Chelsea.jpg\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-159945 has-webp lazyload\" alt=\"Levi Colwill comes on at half time for Chelsea.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/icdn.chelsea.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Levi-Colwill-comes-on-at-half-time-for-Chelsea-190x225.jpg 190w,https:\/\/icdn.chelsea.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Levi-Colwill-comes-on-at-half-time-for-Chelsea-245x290.jpg 245w,https:\/\/icdn.chelsea.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Levi-Colwill-comes-on-at-half-time-for-Chelsea-320x379.jpg 320w,https:\/\/icdn.chelsea.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Levi-Colwill-comes-on-at-half-time-for-Chelsea-414x491.jpg 414w,https:\/\/icdn.chelsea.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Levi-Colwill-comes-on-at-half-time-for-Chelsea-630x747.jpg 630w\" data-sizes=\"(min-width:1230px) 250px, (min-width:1020px) 20vw, (min-width:920px) 290px, (min-width:680px) 30vw, (min-width:394px) 130px, 33vw\"\/><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"post-container col-s-4\">\n<p>\t\t\t&#13;<\/p>\n<div class=\"img-cntr\"><picture><source type=\"image\/webp\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/icdn.chelsea.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Levi-Colwils-shirt-at-Stamford-Bridge-190x253.jpg.webp 190w,https:\/\/icdn.chelsea.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Levi-Colwils-shirt-at-Stamford-Bridge-245x327.jpg.webp 245w,https:\/\/icdn.chelsea.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Levi-Colwils-shirt-at-Stamford-Bridge-320x427.jpg.webp 320w,https:\/\/icdn.chelsea.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Levi-Colwils-shirt-at-Stamford-Bridge-414x552.jpg.webp 414w,https:\/\/icdn.chelsea.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Levi-Colwils-shirt-at-Stamford-Bridge-630x840.jpg.webp 630w\" data-sizes=\"(min-width:1230px) 250px, (min-width:1020px) 20vw, (min-width:920px) 290px, (min-width:680px) 30vw, (min-width:394px) 130px, 33vw\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2789\" height=\"3719\" src=\"https:\/\/icdn.chelsea.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Levi-Colwils-shirt-at-Stamford-Bridge.jpg\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-159939 has-webp lazyload\" alt=\"Levi Colwil's shirt at Stamford Bridge.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/icdn.chelsea.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Levi-Colwils-shirt-at-Stamford-Bridge-190x253.jpg 190w,https:\/\/icdn.chelsea.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Levi-Colwils-shirt-at-Stamford-Bridge-245x327.jpg 245w,https:\/\/icdn.chelsea.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Levi-Colwils-shirt-at-Stamford-Bridge-320x427.jpg 320w,https:\/\/icdn.chelsea.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Levi-Colwils-shirt-at-Stamford-Bridge-414x552.jpg 414w,https:\/\/icdn.chelsea.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Levi-Colwils-shirt-at-Stamford-Bridge-630x840.jpg 630w\" data-sizes=\"(min-width:1230px) 250px, (min-width:1020px) 20vw, (min-width:920px) 290px, (min-width:680px) 30vw, (min-width:394px) 130px, 33vw\"\/><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n<\/section>\n<p><!-- Article End -->\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Chelsea could see a significant improvement to their team on Saturday, with two start players&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4350,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5424","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chelsea"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5424","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5424"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5424\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4350"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5424"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5424"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5424"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}