Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino has given his take on Armando Broja’s chances of playing against Brighton in the Carabao Cup campaign.

The striker made his first appearance of the season as he came in as a substitute in Aston Villa’s defeat on Sunday after going out of action since November last year due to injury.

Pochettino was quizzed if the player could feature in Brighton’s clash from the start. The Argentine coach said: “He’s not ready to start.

“He is helping the team and he is doing well, but he needs time to be fit again to be able to start a game. I think for 20 or 30 minutes he is able to help the team, but he’s still not ready to start.”

Broja impressed on loan with Southampton two seasons ago, but got injured early last season, and has been unavailable since then.

The 22-year-old striker will need to be reintroduced into the team gradually.