Chelsea have been plagued by injuries all season but Mauricio Pochettino must set his focus on reaching the Carabao Cup final next week
Whisper it quietly, but Chelsea’s miserable injury list is showing signs of starting to shorten, albeit slowly.
Mauricio Pochettino had the luxury of being able to welcome back three players from the treatment room against Fulham last weekend, with Ben Chilwell, Carney Chukwuemeka and Benoit Badiashile all making the bench for the West London derby that was settled on the stroke of half-time by a Cole Palmer penalty.
Chilwell and Chukwuemeka both managed to get on at Stamford Bridge, offer renewed hope that the Blues are about to turn a corner in terms of injury luck, but there are still eight first team players that are currently out of action. We’ve taken a look at who they are and when they might be back.
Christopher Nkunku
Nkunku only has four appearances to his name since moving to Stamford Bridge for £52m from RB Leipzig in the summer. A serious knee injury and a subsequent hip problem has kept him out of action but there are signs that a return could be imminent.
Pochettino told BBC Sport: “We are talking, we are assessing the squad. I think Nkunku is going to be ready as soon as possible.”
Potential return date: January 31
Trevoh Chalobah
Chalobah would seem to be the next player closing in on a return to first-team action with Chelsea’s most recent injury report revealing he had joined in with full team training. Could he be in contention to face Middlesbrough in the Carabao Cup second leg?
Potential return date: January 23
Reece James
Club captain James needed surgery after falling foul to a hamstring injury but a potential return date is still no clearer. In December he wrote on social media: “My wish for the new year is that it will be weeks not months, but we cannot say the period, because always it is going to be about how his body is going to react and heal the damage.”
Potential return date: Currently unknown. Estimated end of March.
Lesley Ugochukwu
Another player out with a hamstring issue, Ugochukwu’s return does not appear to be happening any time soon.
Potential return date: Currently unknown.
Romeo Lavia
A thigh problem meant that summer signing Lavia was unable to make his debut for Chelsea until December 27 before being left out of the squad for the next match against Luton Town. Pochettino has admitted he does not know whether the youngster could return soon or if it will take much longer.
“He feels something, some issue,” the Blues boss said in December. “We need to check and hope it’s not [bad]. I’m a little bit worried. I don’t know, because if you were watching the game [against Crystal Palace] you cannot appreciate I was changing the position with Lavia at the end because he was struggling to run. We will see what is going on.”
Potential return date: Currently unknown. Estimated early February.
Robert Sanchez
Goalkeeper Sanchez has been out of action since he was forced off against Everton in early December with a knee injury but Pochettino is optimistic that his glovesman is now closing in on a return. On January 12, Pochettino said: “We are so happy because the specialist said his evolution is really good and today he was running on the pitch. In the next few days he will do more running to try to see how his knee reacts.”
Potential return date: January 30
Wesley Fofana
Fofana suffered a serious ACL injury in pre-season which led to surgery. He is not expected to feature at all this season.
Marc Cucurella
Another Chelsea playing to have succumbed to an injury against Everton. What is it about those Toffees? The Spanish full-back confirmed via social media that he has undergone ankle surgery and could be out for at least three months.
Potential return date: March 2
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Chelsea have been plagued by injuries all season but Mauricio Pochettino must set his focus on reaching the Carabao Cup final next week
Whisper it quietly, but Chelsea’s miserable injury list is showing signs of starting to shorten, albeit slowly.
Mauricio Pochettino had the luxury of being able to welcome back three players from the treatment room against Fulham last weekend, with Ben Chilwell, Carney Chukwuemeka and Benoit Badiashile all making the bench for the West London derby that was settled on the stroke of half-time by a Cole Palmer penalty.
Chilwell and Chukwuemeka both managed to get on at Stamford Bridge, offer renewed hope that the Blues are about to turn a corner in terms of injury luck, but there are still eight first team players that are currently out of action. We’ve taken a look at who they are and when they might be back.
Christopher Nkunku
Nkunku only has four appearances to his name since moving to Stamford Bridge for £52m from RB Leipzig in the summer. A serious knee injury and a subsequent hip problem has kept him out of action but there are signs that a return could be imminent.
Pochettino told BBC Sport: “We are talking, we are assessing the squad. I think Nkunku is going to be ready as soon as possible.”
Potential return date: January 31
Trevoh Chalobah
Chalobah would seem to be the next player closing in on a return to first-team action with Chelsea’s most recent injury report revealing he had joined in with full team training. Could he be in contention to face Middlesbrough in the Carabao Cup second leg?
Potential return date: January 23
Reece James
Club captain James needed surgery after falling foul to a hamstring injury but a potential return date is still no clearer. In December he wrote on social media: “My wish for the new year is that it will be weeks not months, but we cannot say the period, because always it is going to be about how his body is going to react and heal the damage.”
Potential return date: Currently unknown. Estimated end of March.
Lesley Ugochukwu
Another player out with a hamstring issue, Ugochukwu’s return does not appear to be happening any time soon.
Potential return date: Currently unknown.
Romeo Lavia
A thigh problem meant that summer signing Lavia was unable to make his debut for Chelsea until December 27 before being left out of the squad for the next match against Luton Town. Pochettino has admitted he does not know whether the youngster could return soon or if it will take much longer.
“He feels something, some issue,” the Blues boss said in December. “We need to check and hope it’s not [bad]. I’m a little bit worried. I don’t know, because if you were watching the game [against Crystal Palace] you cannot appreciate I was changing the position with Lavia at the end because he was struggling to run. We will see what is going on.”
Potential return date: Currently unknown. Estimated early February.
Robert Sanchez
Goalkeeper Sanchez has been out of action since he was forced off against Everton in early December with a knee injury but Pochettino is optimistic that his glovesman is now closing in on a return. On January 12, Pochettino said: “We are so happy because the specialist said his evolution is really good and today he was running on the pitch. In the next few days he will do more running to try to see how his knee reacts.”
Potential return date: January 30
Wesley Fofana
Fofana suffered a serious ACL injury in pre-season which led to surgery. He is not expected to feature at all this season.
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Potential return date: Pre-season training.
Marc Cucurella
Another Chelsea playing to have succumbed to an injury against Everton. What is it about those Toffees? The Spanish full-back confirmed via social media that he has undergone ankle surgery and could be out for at least three months.
Potential return date: March 2
