Graham Potter spoke of his optimism at the upcoming return of competitive club football for Chelsea, with the prospect of facing AFC Bournemouth something he said he and his squad were "looking forward to".
It has been over a month since the Blues played a Premier League game, owing to the six-week break which the World Cup took up, with the tournament being a natural point of conversation for the manager in his pre-match press conference.
No Chelsea player made it to the final in the end, with the two that came closest being Mateo Kovacic of Croatia and Hakim Ziyech of Morocco, both of whom bowed out at the semi-final stage a little over a week ago.
As they only arrived back relatively recently, Potter confirmed they would not be available for this game, saying, "We're still waiting on Hakim and Mateo. Obviously they went the distance to the third and fourth place and played the games as well.
"Big demand for those two, important to give them time. Everybody else has been back, we've got a few days training with all of them, so, it is what it is. We have to deal with it and it's been good."
With regards to other players who will be absent for the upcoming match, it was not particularly good news as far as Blues fans were concerned, with multiple injuries still continuing to keep key players out of the team.
Wesley Fofana suffered a setback in a behind-closed-doors friendly match last week, delaying his return temporarily, whilst Armando Broja has had to undergo surgery after sustaining an ACL injury in a game against Aston Villa.
Elsewhere, both Ben Chilwell and Ruben Loftus-Cheek are still not quite match fit, though fellow compatriot Reece James "is back in and completed 65 minutes in the week," according to Potter, in a welcome boost.
Finally, at the end of the injury list came goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, as well as N'Golo Kante, who is set to be out until "end of February, early March," with his fitness capabilities now very much under the microscope ahead of any potential contract renewal talks.
'The feeling is positive'
Speaking of Kante, the man who may well be taking a lead in finding a replacement for him is the recently-arrived Christopher Vivell, who has taken over as Chelsea's new technical director.
"I've met him a few times," Potter remarked, "and have a good feeling. I think he is going to be a real asset to the football club. I think his role is to connect the football club in terms of the different departments.
"My normal relationship with technical directors is a supportive one. We'll try to help each other so that's how we're going to work. I'm looking forward to our journey together."
It may seem a world away, but heading into this abnormal mid-season hiatus Chelsea were in extremely poor form in the league, winless in five games and slipping down the table with every match day that went by.
Some have suggested that having a chance to reset was a positive for Potter and his staff, enabling them something close to a pre-season style environment in which they could take time to convey their ideas at the training ground.
As the manager reflected, "We were suffering a bit before the break in terms of results that weren't what we wanted, and performances weren't so good either. Sometimes as a team you go through these periods.
"We went through one there and I could offer lots of explanations as to why. You just have to accept sometimes they happen and you have to get through them, and a break can help, whether it's an international break or different competition.
"You forget you have [had] this intense period and you're still getting to know everyone around the building. We could do that [in the break], we had a really good period together so that helped that.
"The feeling is positive so we're looking forward to the game."