Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino has admitted to being “worried” about Christopher Nkunku’s fitness woes, as the forward continues to struggle with a hip injury.
Nkunku joined Chelsea from RB Leipzig in a £52million (€60m) deal last July, and he was expected to hit the ground running in the Premier League after topping the Bundesliga’s scoring charts with 16 goals last term (alongside Niclas Fullkrug).
However, the 26-year-old has been limited to just four appearances for the Blues after suffering a serious knee injury in pre-season.
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Nkunku finally made his Chelsea debut in December’s EFL Cup quarter-final win over Newcastle United, but he is back on the sidelines less than a month later after sustaining a hip problem in training.
The forward’s latest injury was initially believed to be a minor one, but a medical update released by the club on Friday simply said he was “undergoing a rehabilitation programme”, leaving Pochettino concerned.
“I’m a little bit worried about the situation of Nkunku because it’s now been 10 days that he could not train,” Pochettino said on Friday.
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“We are still assessing him, we don’t know what is going to happen. But the good news is having players like [Trevoh] Chalobah, [Ben] Chilwell, [Benoit] Badiashile and [Carney] Chukwuemeka close to being involved again, helping the team to perform.
“It’s complicated with Christopher. After six months that we waited for him, he was so close to feeling comfortable again, he started the game against Crystal Palace.
“We’re disappointed and a little bit worried because we want him involved again as soon as possible.”
Chelsea host west London rivals Fulham in the Premier League on Saturday, targeting a positive response after suffering a 1-0 defeat in the first leg of their EFL Cup semi-final tie with Middlesbrough on Tuesday.
Pochettino understands the negative fan reaction to that loss, but he is certain Chelsea will improve after failing to convert several good chances at the Riverside Stadium.
“We are Chelsea and we cannot afford to lose this type of game,” he said. “To be honest, if you play this game 100 times, maybe you lose one because its football.
“Maybe in another sport with this situation then you win 100 per cent of the time. This is football. We created many good things but we got criticised.
“It’s good, we can learn from criticism and be tough. We need to feel the pressure because we need to grow. It’s not only with good things that you can improve. For us, it’s important to perform and to win.”
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— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 11, 2024
