Colwill, 23, has been out of action since last summer after he tore his ACL during pre-season, but recently played a full 90 minutes for Chelsea’s under-21s.
As for James, 26, his recent hamstring injury has kept him sidelined since Chelsea’s 1-0 Premier League defeat to Newcastle in March.
Speaking to reporters ahead of their crucial Premier League clash with Nottingham Forest on Monday, McFarlane revealed they’re close to returning.
“We’ve got Reece (James) back in training, Levi (Colwill) is back in training, both looking good.
“A little bit away to the game, so we’ll see how they do day by day, but both are looking promising.”
When pushed about whether they could feature against Forest, he responded: “We’re taking it day by day, and obviously Levi’s had a long injury.
“Reece had a really good run and has been injured again, and there’s a lot of games still to play, so we don’t want to push too much, but we’re just taking it day by day and see, hopefully, they come through.”