Crystal Palace vs Chelsea team news: Cesc Fabregas in line for Blues return but Gary Cahill a doubt

Chelsea are hopeful of having Cesc Fabregas available once again for their trip to Crystal Palace on Saturday 2 January.

The Spain international missed Monday's (28 December) stalemate with Manchester United due to a high temperature. The 28-year-old trained on Wednesday however and played a full game against the club's academy side, leaving interim manager Guus Hiddink optimistic over his chances of returning.

"[Fabregas] trained today, he played in a game against the academy and he played the full game. So he has recovered from his temperature problem," Hiddink told a pre-match press conference.

Hiddink was forced to utilise Eden Hazard as a false nine in the game against United given his lack of striker options. While Diego Costa is available once again after serving a suspension, the Dutchman is still short of back-up options, with Radamel Falcao and Loic Remy still not ready to return.

"[Whether Falcao will be ready] I doubt it, he still has almost the same injury as last week when we tested him. Remy is also doubtful."

Gary Cahill has also missed training with an ankle problem that could rule him out of the trip to Selhurst Park.

"Cahill didn't come on to the pitch this morning, which means he has a small problem but we have a couple of days to assess that. It is his ankle; some ligaments are a little tight.

"We had tough games, intense and physical in both games [against Watford and Manchester United]. But in principle we didn't suffer any big damage. Oscar was a bit hurt after the challenge [from Wayne Rooney], Willian got some tackles but no more. There was intensity in the game but today they were recovering on the pitch which means they are okay."