Pochettino has final Chelsea decision against Arsenal after double injury blow and Christopher Nkunku plan ‘Comes on’
Chelsea news as double injury blow leaves Mauricio Pochettino with a final call to make before facing Arsenal on Saturday
Mauricio Pochettino would be justified in wondering if he is allowed to have nice things. Since arriving at Chelsea he has lost his standout summer signing, his captain, a £70million centre-back and one of the world’s best full-backs to injury.
This international break promised to be the clean start that he and some of the squad had needed with two weeks away from competitive action to either finalise recovery, take a rest simply not miss anymore games whilst attempting to return from various knocks and setbacks.
It started so well with Carney Chukwuemeka, Reece James and Benoit Badiashile all taking key steps towards a return to the first team either for the first time this season or all but. One week and things just aren’t quite going the way that Pochettino might have hoped.
Whilst he has been able to spend time at Cobham with Marc Cucurella, Rob Sanchez, James, Badiashile, Chukwuemeka, Romeo Lavia, Trevoh Chalobah and Raheem Sterling there have been more worries and fears to come from the break so far. Cole Palmer picked up a thigh knock whilst out for England Under-21s and three first teamers have already come back early.
Axel Disasi started it, being selected as a replacement in France’s squad for another injured player but backing out himself by the end of the day after a quad injury that had troubled him at Burnley. Then it was over to the attackers.
Pochettino was already balancing a precarious situation between his strikers but that task has just been made a lot harder.
To start with he entered the job imagining that Christopher Nkunku would be able to play as a No.9 if needed, as trialled in pre-season, even if it wasn’t going to be his main role in the squad, that at least would provide some room for resting and rotating Nicolas Jackson, easing him into the squad and into the league as a young player with limited experience.