Chelsea injury news with the latest from the Blues treatment room ahead of visiting London rivals Brentford on Friday
Chelsea continue to hope for players to return to fitness as the daunting run of fixtures closes in. The clash against Arsenal on Saturday was just the start of six testing weeks for Mauricio Pochettino that gets no easier after the trip to Brentford on Saturday.
The west Londoners are far from their best currently and sit 14th in the table having not won since the end of August. Missing Ivan Toney and struggling to stem the flow of goals, Chelsea are hoping to extend their four match unbeaten run but have a poor recent record against the Bees.
Luckily for Pochettino there were two big injury boosts during the 2-2 draw with the Gunners as Reece James made his first appearance since the opening game of the season anf Benoit Badiashile was named on the bench. Pochettino will be hoping that more can join those two in contention shortly though with Manchester City, Tottenham, Brighton, Manchester United and Newcastle all to come.
Here, football.london has the latest on the Blues injury front ahead of the early kick-off against Thomas Frank’s Brentford, first.
Armando Broja
Broja has been seen in Chelsea training, but missed out of the matchday squad against Arsenal on Saturday afternoon. After being absent for the 2-2 draw against the Gunners, Broja was spotted back in action at Cobham.
What Pochettino said: “Broja wasn’t available and to decide to play with Nico after the surgery on his wrist, it was to find a different way to play in our principles but I think to change the strategy to attack.”
Possible return date: Brentford (H) – Saturday, October 28
Nicolas Jackson
Jackson returned to the matchday squad against Arsenal and was brought off the bench late into the clash. He did undergo a minor operation on his wrist during the international break, but he seems fine.
What Pochettino said: “Broja wasn’t available and to decide to play with Nico after the surgery on his wrist, it was to find a different way to play in our principles but I think to change the strategy to attack.”
Possible return date: Brentford (H) – Saturday, October 28
Christopher Nkunku
Nkunku is still yet to play a competitive game for Chelsea following his transfer from RB Leipzig in the summer. The 25-year-old was dealt a major blow to his knee during a pre-season friendly against Borussia Dortmund.
Taking to Instagram to show off his hard work, he recently posted two black and white filtered pictures of himself in the gym. Last month, Nkunku posted a similar selection of images to his account showing him in the swimming pool and undergoing a medical test on his knee. In late October
Nkunku was again keen to update supporters on his recovery progress with another gym exercise being posted to social media.
He is said to be splitting his recovery between Cobham and Paris as he seeks to build strength for a recovery. Simon Phillips also reports that he will soon be in light training before a gradual welcome to team work.
“They [Chelsea] will be super careful and cautious as they look to reintroduce Nkunku to training and back into the squad, but it’s sounding positive right now and the recovery is going well,” he wrote. We should soon be seeing him back in Chelsea training gear at the very least, and then in a matchday squad.”
Axel Disasi
Disasi featured in Chelsea’s 4-1 win over Burnley before the international break. Unfortunately, the defender suffered a quadricep injury during the match and was ruled out of France’s matches against Netherlands and Scotland.
Disasi, like others, has been in training recently and pictured in drills alongside his teammates. However, he was only able to make the bench against Arsenal.
Possible return date: December
Axel Disasi
Disasi featured in Chelsea’s 4-1 win over Burnley before the international break. Unfortunately, the defender suffered a quadricep injury during the match and was ruled out of France’s matches against Netherlands and Scotland.
Disasi, like others, has been in training recently and pictured in drills alongside his teammates. However, he was only able to make the bench against Arsenal.
What Pochettino said: “We need to assess Axel Disasi, assess Nico Jackson, we need to assess also Reece. Broja is out because rotation problem in his knee but it is another knee, not the one that was the problem from the past. We have a few players that we need to assess to see if they’re available, if they can play, if they’re on the bench or if they’re off the list completely.”
Possible return date: Brentford (H) – Saturday, October 28
Disasi, like others, has been in training recently and pictured in drills alongside his teammates. However, he was only able to make the bench against Arsenal.
Benoit Badiashile
Another who is yet to play for Chelsea this season, Badiashile has been sorely missed in the opening handful of games. The defender has recently returned to training and was selected as part of Pochettino’s matchday squad with his appearance on the bench his first in six months.
Possible return date: Brentford (H) – Saturday, October 28
Romeo Lavia
According to the Mail, Lavia is expected to remain out of action until late November despite having taken promising steps towards a full recovery. The report states that the Belgian was able to take off his protective boot last week and he’s since begun his rehabilitation programme at Cobham training ground.
The Mail adds that a return in November is viewed as ‘optimistic’. It’s believed that the west Londoners are cautious of rushing him back ahead of schedule, meaning that Lavia may not return until early December.
What Pochettino said: “I cannot tell you [when he will be back] but he is still not running. After the international break he will not be back.”
Possible return date: Late November to early December
Trevoh Chalobah
Chelsea issued an official statement confirming that Chalobah picked up a knock ahead of the clash against Arsenal. The defender has been nursing a thigh injury this season.
possible return date; Unknown
Carney Chukwuemeka
Last week, Chelsea issued an official statement confirming that Carney Chukwuemeka had also picked up a knock ahead of the meeting with Arsenal. The teenager has struggled with a knee problem despite only recently returning to full first-team training at Cobham.
Possible return date: Unknown
Ben Chilwell
Pochettino previously admitted that he is unsure when Chilwell will return to action. football.london understands it is now likely to be around two months before he is seen again.
What Pochettino said: “It is difficult. I am no doctor and I cannot tell you what you are asking me. I think it is about judging day by day and we cannot say the period he will be out.”
Possible return date: December
Wesley Fofana
Fofana is set to miss most of the season after rupturing his ACL.
Possible return date: April 2024
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