Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah says the players know their season so far has been below expectations.

He is one of 25 players out in Abu Dhabi for a December break, with hard work going on both in the gym and also on the grass to get set for Bournemouth on the 27 December – in what will be the final game of 2022.

"As a team, we know we can do better. We were in a hard period before the break, we had a lot of games with a lot of minutes," said Chalobah to chelseafc.com. "It is important to refresh mentally and go again.

"It has been a long break so far. It is important to re-charge, re-group, and be physically ready for the second half of the season.

"We are doing a lot of conditioning work and that's what we are working on, and we are getting ready for the Aston Villa match on Sunday."

Chalobah recently penned a new deal to keep him at the club until at least 2028.

"I'm absolutely delighted. It is good to sign again at my boyhood club, I have been here since nine and every time I put the shirt on has been a privilege. To get this opportunity to play for this great club is massive for me. Hopefully achieve some great stuff together."