Chelsea news: Graham Potter has a number of injury concerns within his squad as he begins to prepare for the Blues’ Premier League return against Aston Villa
Graham Potter could be without Raheem Sterling for Chelsea’s clash with Aston Villa (Image: (Photo by Robin Jones/Getty Images))
The international break has thus far been full of both positives and negatives for Graham Potter and Chelsea. Several Blues stars have been dealing with injury issues this season, but the break with their respective national teams has allowed for some to build up more minutes and improve their match sharpness.
Certainly on that list is Ben Chilwell, Conor Gallagher and Christian Pulisic with the trio all playing over the two-week break. Chilwell came in for the suspended Luke Shaw for England’s clash with Ukraine while Gallagher enjoyed two successful cameos from the bench including a bustling display in the final five minutes against Italy.
Pulisic was also on the score sheet for the USMNT in their dominating victory over Grenada just a week on from his first start in a Chelsea shirt in just over two months. However, the negatives seem to outweigh the positives especially in regard to fresh fitness concerns.
After a 10-minute cameo against Italy, Reece James was withdrawn from the England squad because of an ongoing hamstring issue. The right-back has endured a challenging season with injuries and illness seeing him miss 20 games in all competitions for the Blues this season.
Despite overcoming a long-term injury and near-immediate setback, niggling problems look to be still bothering James which makes him a major doubt for the Villa game. On Sunday, it was also announced that Kai Havertz would be returning to Cobham from the German national team after being diagnosed with a flu infection.
The 24-year-old has proven his importance to the Chelsea team in recent weeks after scoring in three consecutive games. Wesley Fofana was another who had to pull out of international duty with a minor muscular issue, but the young defender, who missed out on making his first senior appearance from France, is expected to be available for next weekend’s fixture.
Mason Mount and Raheem Sterling would have likely been included in Gareth Southgate’s squad, but injuries kept the duo out of the picture. The latter of the pair has seemingly given Potter a major team selection headache with his latest niggle a significant blow after a number of impressive displays upon returning from a hamstring injury.
The former Manchester City forward could be available for the visit of Villa with Potter describing the injury as “not too serious.” If Sterling is deemed unavailable though, the international break has given the Chelsea boss an easy decision for who should replace him.
Noni Madueke and Mykhailo Mudryk were both brought in by the Blues for a combined fee of £97million in January, but both have struggled to adapt. The young duo were handed the opportunity to show Potter how they could impact Chelsea, with one enjoying a far better audition than the other.
Despite Mudryk starting for Ukraine against England, the 22-year-old was unable to impact the game in the slightest and was withdrawn just beyond the hour mark. For Madueke, he was likely frustrated to be named on the bench for England’s Under-21s friendly against France, but he was introduced in the 66th minute to great affect.
With the young Three Lions in front courtesy of Emile Smith Rowe, Madueke doubled England’s lead 10 minutes after coming on before then assisting both Curtis Jones and Jacob Ramsey to give England a dominant 4-0 win.
Mudryk appeared ahead of Madueke in the pecking order prior to the break but upon them each enduring differing fortunes with their national teams, Madueke appears to have delivered a statement of intent that Potter cannot ignore.
Source: football.london
