James and Kante continue return from injury as Chelsea train in Abu Dhabi - in pictures

A Blues squad comprising players absent from the World Cup is in the capital for a training camp

Chelsea players take part in a training session at The Ritz Carlton Abu Dhabi on December 5, 2022.

Reece James takes part in a training session at The Ritz Carlton Abu Dhabi.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and his Chelsea teammates take part a training session at The Ritz Carlton.

Reece James of Chelsea during a training session at The Ritz Carlton in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. All photos by Getty Images

Reece James heads the ball during a Chelsea training session at The Ritz Carlton.

Trevoh Chalobah, Armando Broja, James Russell, Marcus Bettinelli and Marc Cucurella of Chelsea during a training session at The Ritz Carlton.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Marc Cucurella and James Russell of Chelsea during a training session at The Ritz Carlton.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of Chelsea during a training session at The Ritz Carlton.

While the eyes of the football world are fixed firmly on the World Cup in Qatar, the players not involved in the tournament are continuing to stay fit for when the club season resumes.

The UAE has always been a popular destination for mid-season training camps, and Chelsea are among the clubs to be spending time in the Emirates over the next few weeks.

The Blues arrived in Abu Dhabi on Monday with a squad comprising a mix of senior players absent from the World Cup and youth team players.

Players such as Kepa Arrizabalaga, Trevoh Chalobah, Marc Cucurella, and Ruben Loftus-Cheek are part of the training camp having not secured places in their national team squads for the World Cup, while the likes of Jorginho, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and Armando Broja are involved as their nations failed to qualify for Qatar.

Then there are the senior players in the squad who were ruled out of the World Cup with injury and are making their way back to full fitness, including Reece James, Ben Chilwell, Wesley Fofana, and N'Golo Kante.

Full-back James has been sidelined with a knee injury since October 11 when he limped off during the Champions League match at AC Milan, while defender Fofana, a summer signing from Leicester City, injured his knee at the start of October in the home match against Milan.

Left-back Chilwell then pulled up with a hamstring injury against Dinamo Zagreb at the start of November, and midfielder Kante has not played a match since August.

All four players are continuing to make progress on their respective injury returns in Abu Dhabi as the Chelsea squad took part in a training session on Monday evening.

Check out the best photos from the training session in the photo gallery above. To move on to the next photo, click on the arrows or swipe if using a mobile device.