Aston Villavs.Chelsea

Palmer was a notable absentee from the 5-0 defeat at Arsenal on Tuesday, the joint-top goalscorer in the Premier League missing through illness.

However, the England international is said to have returned to training on Thursday, Pochettino confirming at a press conference that the playmaker is in line to feature at Villa Park.

Speaking to reporters, Pochettino said: "Cole was training well in the last few days and we assume that he is going to be ready for tomorrow, and be a part of the squad."

Not all positive news for Chelsea...

While that is a notable plus for Chelsea, the West Londoners revealed on Friday that as many as 12 players could be unavailable for the important clash in the top flight.

Reece James and Levi Colwill - who have been absent since December and the start of March respectively - are said to have returned to partial training.

In the case of James, that is particularly good news after undergoing hamstring surgery, but Pochettino ruled out the pair for the next match.

The Argentine added: "No, they are not available yet. They are close. Yesterday, they were doing some partial training with the squad, but still, they are not available."

Furthermore, Carney Chukwuemeka and Raheem Sterling are each "undergoing medical assessment" and appear to be huge doubts to feature in the squad.

Goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu and forward Christopher Nkunku are all participating in partial training, yet may be kept sidelined for the weekend.

Pochettino comments on Fernandez operation

On Thursday night, Chelsea confirmed that Enzo Fernandez would miss the rest of the season after undergoing surgery on what they describe as a groin injury.

The World Cup winner came through two matches since reports first emerged that he would have a hernia operation, but Pochettino acknowledged that his compatriot was struggling to perform to the best of his ability.

Pochettino said: "He feels the limitation because of the problem. The most important thing is to fix the problem for him. If he does not feel well and cannot perform because of the situation, it is not good for him, not good for the team, not good for the club.

"We try to fix the situation as soon as possible and move on, and focus on trying to recover as soon as possible."

Chelsea make the trip to Villa sitting in ninth position in the Premier League standings, three points adrift of Newcastle United in seventh position.