Mateo Kovacic wasn’t in the starting lineup today, which raised a lot of eyebrows.
The fact that Chelsea played badly – and then had to bring the midfielder on before the first half was out – made it seem like a terrible call from manager Graham Potter.
But Potter explained after the game that his midfielder has been nursing a knee injury all season, and that’s why he hasn’t been picked every week. That explains a LOT.
“He’s been nursing his knee for all season pretty much and you look at the schedule, it’s Sunday-Wednesday-Saturday and it’s impossible for him to start all the games,” the Chelsea coach said in quotes picked up by Football.London.
We’ve planned for him to have less time than he has but things have conspired so he has been on the pitch. We all know his quality but at the same time, we’ve got to understand the player’s situation as well.”
It does explain some of the Croatian’s form of late, as well as his inconsistency of selection. On days like today he comes on and is excellent, but he’s basically looked slightly off the pace all season – at least compared to his own high standards.
Luckily Jorginho is able to play every week if called upon, otherwise these injuries would be hurting us in the middle of the park more than they already are.
