Chelsea Injury Update – Mauricio Pochettino provides Cole Palmer, Romeo Lavia and Ben Chilwell injury updates
Chelsea Injury Update – Mauricio Pochettino provides Cole Palmer, Romeo Lavia and Ben Chilwell injury updates
Mauricio Pochettino has provided an injury update on Ben Chilwell and Romeo Lavia ahead of Chelsea’s clash against Burnley this weekend. The Blues will welcome the Clarets to Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon as either side hopes to climb the Premier League table.
Speaking to reporters at Cobham training ground ahead of the tie, Pochettino confirmed that Chilwell had suffered a knock. The former Tottenham Hotspur boss said: “We still we need to assess a few players like [Ben] Chilwell, who came from the national team playing two games after he didn’t play with us.
“He got a knock in his leg, on his knee, today he wasn’t ready to train. We will see what happens tomorrow, whether he will be available for the squad. We need to assess him.
“A few players also like Enzo didn’t arrive. Today was a training session to put everyone at the same level and to check for tomorrow to prepare the game and see if they can be available. Not too many new news.”
Then, when pushed for an explanation on the left-back’s injury, Pochettino added: “Surprised, not surprised, I don’t know. If he cannot play for us or be available, and because he didn’t play after Brentford with us, he only played a few minutes against Leicester in the FA Cup.
“Yes, it was a situation that he started two games, maybe it’s a surprise for us. But it’s bad luck because he got a dead leg in the last moment in the game against Belgium. That’s another bit of bad luck we have because we need to assess whether he can be available.”
Earlier this week, Lavia was ruled out for the remainder of the season due to a thigh injury. When quizzed on the 20-year-old midfielder’s situation, Pochettino said: “Yes, it’s really difficult situation for him. He’s sad. He’s not happy because he only plays 30 minutes. For a new player arriving at the club.
“It’s a thing that sometimes happens in football. When the club signed him, he arrived with problems from Southampton. He could not train with us in the first months. When he started to be ready to prepare, he suffered a problem in his feet.
“And then he recovered, played only 30 minutes and got injured. From December, we didn’t have the possibility to train with him because he was never available or really close. After December, four months, never we had the possibility to train with him. Really sad news.”
Pochettino later clarified that Lavia was dealt a setback during his rehabilitation, picking up a different injury to what he suffered when he first arrived. The Chelsea boss added: “Different problem. It’s difficult to explain because I am not a doctor.
“In nine months, only a few weeks he was with us, training with us and the most important thing is that he arrives and he cannot train because when the club signed him he was injured. And then when he started to train with us he suffered a knock in his feet.
“After he was training with us for a few weeks he was available against Wolves but didn’t go in and played against Crystal Palace and then got injured in his quad.
“Then he has never had the opportunity to train with us. He’s sad. It’s a sad situation, no? I hope he can become stronger. For sure, we are going to help him become stronger and be available for the pre-season.”
Cole Palmer has also recently emerged as an injury doubt for the Chelsea tie, with Pochettino revealing that the former Manchester City midfielder still needs to be assessed. The Blues manager said: “I was talking with him, he was a little bit disappointed because he cannot play or perform with the national team.
“I think the first game he had a small problem. He thought that he could play in the second game against Belgium but didn’t play. Now he is okay, he was training well.
“There is still one training session more tomorrow, but the plan is if he is tomorrow in the same way, then he will be available for the game on Saturday.”
