Antonio Conte gives Chelsea fitness update on Hazard, Zappacosta and Drinkwater for Leicester trip

Chelsea star Eden Hazard is available for the coming trip to Leicester City on Saturday (9 September) but Antonio Conte refused to confirm whether the Belgium ace will make his starting line-up.

Deadline day signings Davide Zappacosta and Danny Drinkwater are also expected to make the squad, but the Italian boss suggested the England international may not be ready to make his debut just yet.

Hazard, 26, is yet to play a game for Chelsea this season after suffering an ankle ligament injury while on international duty earlier in June.

However, the injury woes look to be over as the player returned to action with his national team during the recent the World Cup qualifiers against Gibraltar and Greece, playing a total of 93 minutes in both games.

Hazard is thus also in contention to face Leicester on Saturday but Conte may consider using him from the bench ahead of a busy week which will see the Blues hosting Qarabag in the Champions League (12 September) before a Premier League derby with Arsenal (17 September).

"Eden is available, he is in the squad for the game," Conte confirmed in the press conference ahead of the trip to Leicester City.

"He is improving a lot. He worked very hard to be ready. Now I can count on him, but for sure I have to decide the right moment and the right minutes for him. When there is a bad injury and surgery, it's normal to pay attention to the recovery."

Meanwhile, Conte hailed the arrival of his compatriot Zappacosta after the Italian wing-back completed his move from Torino on deadline day to provide competition for Victor Moses in the right-side.

The Chelsea boss suggested that he is "ready" to make his debut against Leicester after the 25-year-old proved he is up to the challenge during the recent international break, helping Italy to secure a 1-0 victory over Israel.

"Davide Zappacosta played against Israel for the national team which shows he is in good physical condition," Conte said. "He worked with me at the national team, he knows my style of football and my ideas very well, and for this reason it is more simple for him to adapt himself to our style.

"He is a good, young player and he has a lot of space to improve. He makes good runs during the game, he has good quality and he is a wing-back. Usually he prefers to play on the right but sometimes he plays on the left. Davide is ready and very soon you can see his performances. It's a great chance for him. It's not easy to play in another country with another type of football, but he has the right characteristics to adapt himself very soon."

Conte said that Drinkwater will also make the squad but suggested that the game against his former side could come too early for the England international. Nevertheless, the midfielder couldn't feature for Leicester in the first games of the season due to a groin injury and is still working to build up his match fitness.

Asked whether Drinkwater could face his former side, he said: "We are working with him, and we are trying to get him in the best physical condition. He is a good buy for us, he is working very well and this week he improved his physical condition a lot. He is in the squad for the Leicester game but I don't know when he will be ready to play."