Enzo Maresca left no choice as Chelsea suffer another late injury ahead of Bournemouth clash
Goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen was substituted off the field early on Wednesday night while representing Denmark’s Under-21 team, causing Chelsea to endure yet another injury setback. That occurs as Enzo Maresca continues to train without a number of important players ahead of this weekend’s Premier League football comeback.
Jorgensen, who hasn’t played a home game for Chelsea yet, has established himself as the Conference League’s go-to ‘keeper thus far. After spending almost £21 million to move from Villarreal over the summer, he is still in the running to replace Robert Sanchez as first choice.
Any hopes of usurping his Spanish teammate have been put on hold though, with Denmark’s youth coach Steffen Hojer subbing him off late on during a 5-0 win over Czech Republic. “He’s being checked,” Hojer said after the match.
“I just asked if he was okay. He was annoyed, but hopefully it is not something that is really wrong.”
For Maresca, it is unlikely to seriously change his plans ahead of a trip to Bournemouth on Saturday evening. Sanchez has re-established himself as the No.1 having lost his spot under Mauricio Pochettino last season, but Jorgensen is expected to seriously push him for that position.
Signed due to his comfort on the ball, the 22-year-old has so far only played two matches for the Blues, both against Servette in Europe. He impressed in the play-off first leg at Stamford Bridge, helping Chelsea take a 2-0 lead to Switzerland, but was caught unbalanced for a late goal in the return fixture which set up a nervy ending.
Also joining Jorgensen as a doubt for the match is Romeo Lavia. He is yet to be seen in training at Cobham during the break having missed the final three games before the break. Reece James is in the same camp and is yet to appear this season after himself being dealt a setback.
Although James was suspended for the opening month of the campaign he would have been eligible to appear in the Conference League. Malo Gusto is another who Maresca will be assessing late on.
He had been called up to France’s Under-21 side but withdrew before even meeting up with with the squad. Gusto had to go off with half an hour left of the last Chelsea match against Crystal Palace, holding his hamstring.
The good news for Chelsea is that Cole Palmer has been in training after also backing out of international duty with England.