Guus Hiddink believes Alexandre Pato is "ready" to make his Chelsea debut ahead of Tuesday's trip to face Norwich at Carrow Road.
The Brazilian striker joined Chelsea on loan from Corinthians in January but has failed to feature for the west Londoners since his arrival.
The 26-year-old has not played a competitive game since November and he required additional time to work on his fitness before being considered for selection.
Pato is still lacking the fitness needed to start for the reigning champions but Hiddink has hinted the forward is in line to make his Premier League bow against Alex Neil's side.
"He’s not ready for 90 minutes but he’s ready to play part of the game," Hiddink told the club's official website.
"That’s why I said in his situation the best thing was to have him on loan, so he could get used to the club and the club could make a proper judgement on his performances.
"We have to be careful with some players that they’re not going over the top with their physical load," insisted the Dutchman.
Diego Costa remains Chelsea's first-choice striker but, with a Champions League clash against Paris Saint-Germain on the horizon, the Spaniard could be rested before next Wednesday's encounter with the Ligue 1 club.
Hiddink appears to be short of options up front with Radamel Falcao injured and Loic Remy out of form, but the Dutchman is happy with what he has at his disposal.
"Pato is eager and there is healthy competition among the strikers with Diego as number one.
"It’s a very good atmosphere. The others have stepped up and I’m happy with the progress of Bertrand Traore," he added.
Chelsea currently occupy 11th place in the table and could force their way into the top half with victory at Norwich.
