Chelsea Suffer Nkunku Injury Blow After Liverpool Defeat

Mauricio Pochettino has confirmed that Christopher Nkunku has suffered a fresh injury and he is expected to be out of action for four weeks.

The French forward was in action in the 1-0 loss to Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday.

He is now set for another spell on the sidelines after an injury-hit first season at Stamford Bridge since joining from Dortmund in the summer.

Nkunku missed the first four months of the season after sustaining a knee injury in pre-season and another one month towards the end of the year.

Pochettino has admitted that he is not the same player that was doing well in Germany following a frustrating battle with injury.

Pochettino said, “We learned yesterday Nkunku got injured but we don’t know when he got injured. We need to see and evaluate every day but he’s out for three or four weeks. We hope no more. It’s difficult for him. We watched him when he arrived in pre-season.

“He was flying on the training pitch until he got injured. Now it is nearly eight months and he has been involved again but he is not the same player as before.

“We have in our head the amazing Nkunku from pre-season but it is not the same player because of the circumstances. That’s why it is sometimes unfair when we judge.”

Nkunku has scored two goals in ten matches in all competitions for Chelsea this season.

Chelsea have struggled with injuries this season with most of their players missing a large part of the season, the likes of Reece James, Marc Cucurella, Wesley Fofana, Romeo Lavia, Lesley Ugochukwu, Robert Sanchez enduring a frustrating time on the treatment table.

Pochettino will be hoping for instant response from his players when they take on in-form Leeds United in the FA Cup fifth round on Wednesday night.

Pochettino said, “When you lose a final it’s not easy to recover but I am happy because I think the players are really focused and are moving forward. If you ask the players today, they all want to be involved in the game.

“They are, of course, disappointed because we did not win the Carabao Cup but we need to move on to tomorrow. I am happy because I think they have reacted well and they are ok.

“We need to keep the spirit up, move on, and be ready for tomorrow. It’s another competition, the FA Cup, and we want to go to the end.”

He also revealed that he has the support of the owners following the Carabao Cup final defeat.

Pochettino concluded: “The owners showed support to me after the final. Todd Boehly also sent me a nice message.

“After the final, during the night, I met Behdad and we were talking. We were sharing our opinions of the game and the opportunity we missed”.