Cesar Azpilicueta has backed Ross Barkley to become "very important" for Chelsea after struggling to impress in his debut against Arsenal on Wednesday.
Antonio Conte called the January signing with just half an hour on the clock, after Willian was forced to withdraw, and Barkley showed visible match rustiness having not played a competitive game since May 2017.
Azpilicueta called for patience over Barkley, insisting the 24-year-old must be given time to get back up the speed and spoke of how impressive he has been during training.
"We know that he is coming back from a long injury and he has only played for the under-23s but he came straight on without a warm-up and seems on the right path," Azpilicueta said.
"He is coming from a seven-month injury and is with a new club and a new team. What I see in training is him working very hard to work with the team and I am sure he will be very important.
"Now in the next six or eight games we have the next rounds of the FA Cup, we have the Champions League and we have the Premier League.
"We have to keep pushing and we need everybody 120 percent.
