Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel admits they'll be careful with Reece James' playing return.
The 22-year-old, who has been a standout performer for the Blues this season, has been sidelined since picking up a hamstring injury at the end of December.
There were reports that James could be in line to make his comeback for the club's Club World campaign but Tuchel provided an update on the defender's recovery ahead of Chelsea's FA Cup clash this weekend.
"He is not in team training yet, so maybe that answers the question," Tuchel said.
"After a couple of weeks, he will need some time in team training to get the confidence back.
"He does not travel with us to the Club World Cup."
Chelsea face League One outfit Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday in the lunchtime kick-off before travelling to Abu Dhabi to play in the Club World Cup on Wednesday.
Tuchel revealed that James' rehabilitation has also been delayed by the England international suffering with flu recently.
"For Reece, I am too long a coach to not get overexcited by pure dates that are maybe out there," he added.
"I know you can have setbacks and can take long sometimes. The injury was a big injury and I felt it straight away.
"The diagnosis was straight away it was a big injury and from there we have to be patient. It's always a bit of a tricky one and he is a physical player.
"He caught flu in the last week and lost days in his process of coming back to the team.
"We are patient and we want to have him on the pitch tomorrow, of course, but it's not happening at the moment and we have to stay patient. He works hard and is in best hands."
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