Chelsea team news vs Eintracht Frankfurt: Blues prepare for Europa League semi-final first leg

Maurizio Sarri will hope Willian will be available after the Brazilian suffered a knock against Manchester United

Antonio Rudiger and Callum Hudson-Odoi were the only absentees from Chelsea training ahead of Thursday’s Europa League semi-final first leg against Eintracht Frankfurt.

Blues boss Maurizio Sarri oversaw training at the club’s Cobham training base on Wednesday morning, with the squad scheduled to travel to Germany later in the day after eliminating Slavia Prague in the quarter-finals to reach the final four.

Germany centre-back Rudiger has been ruled out for the rest of the season after undergoing knee surgery on Tuesday, which leaves room for Andreas Christensen to step in at the Commerzbank-Arena.

England winger Hudson-Odoi is a long-term absentee after rupturing his Achilles against Burnley on April 22.

The good news for Chelsea is that Willian, who picked up a knock against Manchester United on Sunday after a heavy challenge from Argentine defender Marcos Rojo, trained fully and is in contention to start.

Chelsea head to the continent still hoping to secure a place in next season’s Champions League.

The Blues can do so by winning the competition, or holding on to fourth place in the Premier League. They are currently two points ahead of fifth-placed London rivals Arsenal – who play Valencia in the other Europa League semi-final – with two domestic fixtures remaining.

Willian took part in the training session after suffering a knock on Sunday (Getty Images)

Europa League top scorer Olivier Giroud also trained freely on Wednesday. The France striker has hit 10 goals in 11 games in the competition this term and is once again set to start ahead of top-flight regular Gonzalo Higuain.

The Blues, who won the tournament in 2013 under Rafael Benitez, host Eintracht in the second leg at Stamford Bridge on May 9.

PA Sport also contributed to this report