The French midfielder and his Blues team-mates spent yesterday paint-balling in a bid to maintain their morale ahead of this Saturday's FA Cup third round tie at Stamford Bridge.
Despite not having figured in the first team since late November, Christophe is sure he is sharp enough to start against Phil Scolari's side.
Speaking to the Southend Evening Echo he said: "I have been working hard while I haven't been able to play and have been doing plenty of cardio work with the physio, John Stannard. I've been running with and without the ball and if the manager needs me to start then I'm ready to do that."
Christophe made 17 appearances during his three months on loan with the Blues but that stint could not be made permanent until the transfer window reopened in January. The move will therefore be officially confirmed tomorrow but Christophe has now also recovered from the hamstring strain he suffered in the 3-1 triumph over Luton Town in the previous round of the competition and will be fit for the weekend.
Christophe continued: "I'm pleased to be able to play again for Southend and it's a very big game to be coming back for. I saw Chelsea's game against Fulham at the weekend and they looked very good. I also saw them play Portsmouth at the start of the season and win 4-0 so I certainly know how talented they all are. You know who you are going to be facing and you have to be ready. They have world class players and in my position it could be Frank Lampard, Deco or John Obi Mikel we're up against but that's a great challenge for us. They are superb but at the end of the day it's still man against man. They have two hands and two feet just like the rest of us and we want to go there and give them a game."
That's the spirit!
Welcome back Jean-Francois, beyond the cup-tie a central mid-field of Macca and the Frenchman should make the Blues a tougher proposition to break down than they have ben recently.