Mauricio Pochettino has revealed that key man Ben Chilwell could be sidelined for some time with a hamstring injury after he limped off in midweek.
The Blues edged to a 1-0 win over Brighton courtesy of a goal from Nicolas Jackson early in the second half, a result which saw Mauricio Pochettino’s side into the last 16 of the Carabao Cup, where they will meet Blackburn Rovers.
It was their first goal in the month of September, and their first win since beating Luton Town last month. However, it wasn’t all good news as Chilwell was forced off late in the piece, leaving Chelsea to see out the final minutes with 10 men.
Now, reports claim he could be out for as long as a month with a re-occurrence of an issue suffered last season.
Pochettino isn’t hopeful.
“It’s bad news — the doctor told me it’s not good thing”, the Blues boss explained. “It doesn’t look good, we’re really sad”.
It means that Marc Cucurella could be handed a rare Premier League start when the Blues take on Fulham at Craven Cottage on Monday night, while other options include moving Levi Colwill to left-back or placing faith in Ian Maatsen, who was the subject of a late £31m offer on transfer deadline day only to opt to stay at Stamford Bridge.
There are similar problems at right-back, where Malo Gusto’s straight red card last weekend have left the Blues short on the flank and Axel Disasi likely to be asked to fill in against the Cottagers.
Pochettino is still ruing the absence of his first choice options though.
“When they’re at their best, they are the best full-backs in the world,” he explained.
“At all clubs, important players are missed when they don’t play.
“If the question is ‘do we miss them?’ Of course. Reece is a top player and [Chilwell] also.”
