Chelsea appear to have navigated the worst of their defensive selection crisis, with a number of players back and available to manager Enzo Maresca after the international break.
The Blues ended their 2–1 win over Liverpool with Reece James and Jorrel Hato, both natural fullbacks, as a central partnership after Benoît Badiashile and Josh Acheampong were forced off injured.
Levi Colwill, Tosin Adarabioyo and Wesley Fofana were all unavailable through injuries, while Trevoh Chalobah was suspended, leaving Chelsea without a single natural centre back available to Maresca heading into the break.
Fortunately for the Blues, a number of those options have already made themselves available. Chalobah has served his suspension, while Fofana has completed his mandatory spell on the sidelines following a concussion and has been training with Chelsea this week.
After claims that Acheampong’s injury was “not serious”, Chelsea were delighted to see the academy graduate start for England Under-21s in a 4–0 win over Moldova on Friday.
Having three natural defenders confirmed as fit and available is an enormous boost for Maresca, but there is hope that even more of the injured crop could be back. Updates on Tosin have been limited but the boss confirmed late last month that he would likely return from a calf injury after the international break.
Meanwhile, Badiashile’s issue is also not thought to be a significant one, although the Frenchman may be given extra time to recover as Chelsea seek to avoid taking any risks with a player who has missed so much time through injury over the past 12 months.
It is feasible that, by the time Chelsea travel to Nottingham Forest on Saturday, they have every defender back at their disposal aside from Colwill, whose ACL injury could keep him out of action for the entire season.
Now, it is in midfield where Maresca’s greatest issue lies. Enzo Fernández was sent home from Argentina duty with a knee problem, joining Cole Palmer and Dário Essugo on the sidelines.
Moisés Caicedo, however, is expected to be in top condition after being left out of the Ecuador squad to rest.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Chelsea’s Defensive Injury Crisis Begins to Soften Before Nottingham Forest Clash.
