Chelsea boss Graham Potter has provided an injury update on Christian Pulisic and Raheem Sterling following the 1-0 defeat to Manchester City.
Sterling was replaced after just five minutes and could be seen holding his hamstring after a collision with John Stones.
Pulisic, meanwhile, was also forced off after a crunching tackle from Stones on 22 minutes.
N’Golo Kante (thigh), Reece James (knee), Edouard Mendy (shoulder), Wesley Fofana (knee), Armando Broja (knee) Ruben Loftus-Cheek (ankle), Ben Chilwell (hamstring) and Mason Mount (knock) are all also ruled out in what is an injury nightmare for the Blues.
Potter provided an update on both Sterling and Pulisic after losing to City at Stamford Bridge as he told beIN SPORTS: ‘Raheem felt the back of his leg when he did a backheel, a strange action, a strange sensation, so fingers crossed.’
He then spoke to BBC Match of the Day and added: ‘It’s too early to say with injuries.
‘Raheem felt it with the first minute of the game. And then with Christian we’re hoping it’s not too serious.’
Former Blues striker Chris Sutton feels Chelsea owner Todd Boehly, who spent around £280m on players this summer, is already losing his patience with Potter with the west London club 10th in the Premier League table and 10 points off the top four.
The Blues head coach – who only arrived from Brighton in September after replacing Thomas Tuchel – admits that he is finding things tough at the moment.
Potter told Sky Sports: ‘It was a much better performance, when you consider everything… losing Raheem and Pulisic early. I’m proud of the players in terms of everything they gave.
‘It’s tough at the moment, I must admit. I feel for the boys, of course. We have to stick together, it’s one of those times.
‘For their goal, I thought we committed too many men too high to press them, and then you have to credit their quality. I think Kepa and Marc thought each other could have dealt with it.
‘You hope that people look the whole context and perspective and see exactly what we’ve been through and what we’ve had to deal with.
‘At the same time, emotions are high, that’s how it is. You have to ride out any storm and stay level. I think the crowd today appreciated the performance, our support has been fantastic.’
Carney Chukwuemeka backs Chelsea youngsters to take chances amid injury crisis
Carney Chukwuemeka hopes he can join Chelsea youngsters Lewis Hall and Omari Hutchinson in making their mark on the first-team during the club’s injury crisis.
“At times it can be a bit nerve-wracking,” Chukwuemeka told Sky Sports. “But you just have to switch on and get your mind in the game, see how I can help the team.
“I feel like, because of how young I am, when I get on the pitch I don’t have anything to lose so I can just express myself. It’s the same for Omari and Lewis, they played really well when they came on so it’s just about keeping working.
“It’s a big opportunity for us to try to break into the team because of the injuries, just keep doing what we’re doing.”
Chukwuemeka almost broke the deadlock in a positive display for Chelsea, hitting the post in the first half.
“My heart skipped, literally, as I took the shot,” he added.
“I thought it was in but obviously not meant to be today, I’ve just got to keep working and hopefully it’ll come in the next few games.”
SOURCE: metro.co.uk, standard.co.uk
