Chelsea latest injury report is out, with a couple of significant changes.
Carney Chukwuemeka has been updated to “in team training,” indicating he’s close to a return.
As we already knew he would be, Mykhailo Mudryk has been added to the list after being removed with a concussion substitution on Wednesday night. He has a 7 day compulsory “concussion protocol” to follow, ruling him out of the final game of the season.
The good news is that Christopher Nkunku, who replaced him in that game, has now had two appearances off the bench and should have the legs to start and play 60 minutes or so, something which will get fans very excited.
Overall that leaves just long term absentees Wesley Fofana and Romeo Lavia, who have missed the whole season, out.
Then there’s Robert Sanchez’s mystery issue, plus Enzo who is recovering from his hernia surgery (and we’ve already seen training with the ball in any case.)
Just in time for the season to end, the injury crisis appears to be over… even Lavia and Fofana can’t be far off stepping up their recovery too.
Coming up just short
A return for Chukwuemeka seems a lot less likely. While he’s in team training now, a couple of sessions isn’t going to be enough to prepare him for more than a short cameo at best. It’s been a horribly injury stricken season for him, with one long problem leading to a cascade of smaller issues.
We hope this summer allow him the chance to recover properly and get a really solid preseason in. We saw in his appearances this season that he’s a great player and one that Pochettino really likes, so it’s all set up for him to succeed if he can just get on the pitch consistently. He’s made just two starts this season which is pretty tragic, and we hope for ten times that next season.