Chelsea FC has now suffered another devastating blow in the attacking department as a player is revealed to have picked up another injury.
Following a pre-match press conference held by Mauricio Pochettino before the FA Cup fixture played against Preston by Chelsea, the head coach confirmed that the club’s main attacker Christopher Nkunku will not start the game but will be included in the squad ahead of the tie.
The Blues however won the fixture against Preston on Saturday, January 6, 2024, by a comprehensive scoreline of 4-0, the main highlight of the fixture was Christopher Nkunku who is an important player for the Blues’ absence on the pitch as reports now speculate that the French international has picked up a new hip injury that will keep him out of the squad for another three weeks.
According to The Mirror UK, Pochettino in his post-match press conference, revealed that Nkunku is the Chelsea player who had picked up the injury in training ahead of the FA Cup tie. He said, “When we talk about the case of Nkunku, we don’t want to put pressure on him. We know it is difficult after a long time injured. Six months away is always tough. Like now he wasn’t involved because he suffered after training yesterday a problem in his hip and we need to see if he can be ready for the next few games. That is the problem. They need time but need to play also to get the best and we cannot provide this game time to players who need to go and feel the competition because we need to win. We are in Chelsea and need to win. Sometimes it’s really tough to explain to the players who feel the pressure to perform and to play. They want to help the team. Sometimes it is difficult to explain but if you understand football you realise how tough it is.”
Chelsea will also be without Nicholas Jackson who is currently on international duty for Senegal at AFCON 2023. This will be a huge concern for the Blues in the attack department as the Premier League battle intensifies.