Latest Chelsea injury news as eight miss Bournemouth with Reece James and Enzo Fernandez update
Chelsea injury news as Mauricio Pochettino continues to fight a losing battle with his squad's fitness after further issues for Moises Caicedo and Malo Gusto.
Chelsea are back in Premier League action as they look to bounce back from a disappointing loss at home to Nottingham Forest last time out. With two weeks to prepare for the game, Mauricio Pochettino and his men will be hoping to kick start their year.
The Blues have only taken four points from their opening four games with two losses despite a relatively tame set of fixtures on paper. There has been a major caveat for the Argentine boss to this point as well though, with a host of his first team stars missing some of if not all of the season to date.
Christopher Nkunku is no closer to a return and will do well to be back in action before Christmas, let alone the end of September. Wesley Fofana is in the same long-term boat but may not be in the team again until well into 2024. Both players would be in the mix to start most games and has left Pochettino to experiment.
Ben Chilwell, who has been playing as a left-winger, could continue in that slot after a slight concern for Mykhailo Mudryk in the international break. He looked to have picked up a calf knock during the fortnight away with Ukraine, coming off against England late on during the 1-1 draw in Poland.
The 22-year-old, who has been fighting fitness issues since the Under-21 European Championships earlier this summer, returned to training and then came on from the bench four days later against Italy. A sign that he could be ready for action, but Pochettino is yet to give him a go from the start this campaign.
assess him but we hope so [he's ready]," the head coach said. The Premier League's most expensive player did still have the blue support on his right knee during the match but it didn't stop him from playing. It is hoped that any reason for the support is just precautionary and won't stop him from featuring on Sunday.
As for Fernandez, he scored for Argentina in their second match but was playing at nearly 12,000 feet above sea level and had a long trip back to the club. "We saw them today and he is in a good mood.
"He scored against Bolivia, I think he will be ready," was the update from Cobham. French defender Malo Gusto also had the same issue as Caicedo, with a strapped right thigh being seen during his time away with the Under-21 national team.
He has since been in training back in England without the thigh strapping. All in all, there are still plenty of options for Pochettino but his squad is heavily depleted of first choice options across the pitch and Bournemouth is likely to come at least a few week
