Prior to Chelsea’s FA Cup fourth-round match at Stamford Bridge against Aston Villa next week, the team’s injury list is still quite long.
Under Mauricio Pochettino, the Blues want to finally establish some consistency, but that has proven difficult as injuries keep coming. A hip injury that kept him out of action for the first half of the season made Christopher Nkunku the most recent player to suffer a setback.
After joining Chelsea for £52 million in the summer, Nkunku has only made four appearances in competitive play and one start for the Premier League’s Chelsea. In the club’s Carabao Cup semi-final second leg against Middlesbrough on Tuesday, Pochettino is optimistic about his ability to play again, so he should be ready to play against Villa.
With a knee injury that took him off the pitch against Everton in early December, custodian Robert Sanchez has not played since. However, Pochettino is hopeful that the Spaniard will be back in action by the end of January. That would raise questions about his participation versus Villa, although Djordje Petrovic, his backup, has been playing well.
Trevoh Chalobah has resumed full first-team training, so he might recover in time for Chelsea’s FA Cup match against Villa. This season, the defender hasn’t played a single game for the Blues.
Romeo Lavia‘s thigh issue delayed his Chelsea debut until late December, and he was ruled out of the starting lineup for the team’s subsequent game against Luton Town. Pochettino has acknowledged that he has no idea when the child will return or if it would take much longer.
After undergoing ankle surgery, Marc Cucurella may be out for a minimum of three months, and Chelsea will also be without Reece James for a while. Lesley Ugochukwu, a midfielder, is currently recovering from a hamstring injury and is not expected to play versus Villa. Wesley Fofana has been missing for a while.
