Chelsea suffered another injury blow – Player out for the rest of 2024
Wiley, a defender for Chelsea, is thought to have sustained a knee injury during a training session early in the week and is therefore doubtful for the remainder of 2024. Chelsea has not yet assessed the severity of the injury, but people close to the player claim it may keep him out for up to three months, and possibly the entire year.
The left-back joined Chelsea in the summer, and his recent games showed maturity and earned him a spot in the starting lineup on a regular basis. Furthermore, losing Wiley was a slight setback to Pochettino’s defense because Ben Chilwell will also be out for months.
Impact on Chelsea’s defence
This injury only leaves Chelsea with choice-limited options for left back. Chelsea have been seriously lacking rigidity at the back this campaign. And the latest news of Wiley doesn’t help.
An Argentinian manager may have to play other defenders out of position. It means that the left-back slot now can have a player like Levi Colwill or Renato Veiga. And reliance on youth academy prospects is well more than possible. An injury blow before Christmas can come as an almighty setback for Chelsea. During these times things are already pretty congested.
Chelsea will keenly be tracking the recovery of Wiley. They will be hoping that he will be back to his best form sooner rather than later. Maresca, on the other hand, is looking at one of two options. He can possibly look into the transfer market or reshuffle his tactics to compensate for this loss to the squad. It’s too early to say if this injury will now create more opportunities for academy players. But it definitely heaps more pressure on Chelsea to bolster their defence in January as players like Badiashile can leave in the January.