Chelsea confirm that Mauricio Pochettino will be without eight players for Sunday’s EFL Cup final against Liverpool.
Marc Cucurella, Thiago Silva, Benoit Badiashile, Carney Chukwuemeka, Wesley Fofana, Reece James, Romeo Lavia, and Lesley Ugochukwu will miss out.
What is the latest?
Chelsea say Cucurella will take part in partial team training for the reconditioning phase. He underwent surgery on his ankle in December and could return in March. Silva will also take part in partial team training for the reconditioning phase. He’s been out for two weeks with a groin injury.
Badiashile is continuing to undergo his rehabilitation programme after picking up a groin injury earlier this month. Chukwuemeka is continuing to undergo his rehabilitation programme after suffering an ankle injury two weeks ago.
Chelsea say Fofana is continuing to undergo his rehabilitation programme after the lengthy knee injury suffered. It remains to be seen if he’ll feature before the season is up, but he did return to light training before the new year. As for James, he’s continuing to undergo his rehabilitation programme from December’s hamstring injury.
Lavia is another player who’s continuing to undergo their rehabilitation programme after picking up another knock. And Ugochukwu is continuing to undergo his rehabilitation programme from December’s hamstring injury.
Chelsea have enough depth to cope
Similar to Lavia, Ugochukwu has spent a lot of time on the treatment table, missing a lot of games. Chelsea haven’t had much luck getting the squad fit at the same time, so they’ll be patched up against Liverpool. That being said, Pochettino does still have a squad that can get the job done at Wembley.
Ben Chilwell is a capable deputy at left-back for Cucurella while Levi Colwill is a strong option at centre-back in Silva’s stead. Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo are preferred in midfield over Lavia and Ugochukwu regardless of injury. And James has missed so much of the season that Chelsea have learned to cope without him.
Chelsea have two wins and a draw from their last three, so they’ll fancy their chances no matter who’s available.
In other news, read how Chelsea reached the EFL Cup final this season
