Chelsea boss Antonio Conte won't rush Kurt Zouma's first team return.

Zouma hasn't played for the first team since suffering a ligament injury against Manchester United in February.

The France international has resumed training with the first team squad, but is being lined up to play for the Under-23s against Southampton on Monday afternoon rather than the senior clash at Middlesbrough on Sunday.

Conte said: “I'm happy to have this availability of the central defenders. It's important that Kurt is back with us and, in training, he's in good form.

“But it's normal that, when you arrive after a bad injury, you need a bit of time to recover the best form.

“For this reason, we prefer Kurt in this period to play the games with the U23s. On Monday he plays with the U23s.

“It's important to have game-time in this period. It's good, it's fantastic, to have another good player like Kurt Zouma available again."