If Chelsea’s injury woes weren’t bad enough, they got even worse. Wesley Fofana, Reece James, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Ben Chilwell, N’Golo Kante, and Armando Broja are currently out..
Meanwhile, Thiago Silva, Kalidou Koulibaly, and Mateo Kovacic’s World Cup returns are uncertain, as all three players struggled with fitness prior to the international break. Kepa Arrizabalaga was also ruled out at the time.Although the Blues expect James, Fofana, and Loftus-Cheek to be available when the Premier League resumes on December 27, Chilwell and Broja are expected to be out for the majority, if not the entire season, and Kante hasn’t been seen since August..
Graham Potter has a stranglehold on not only tactical decisions but also team selection in general due to a series of key player injuries. He has had to be creative in order to balance his XI, and major flaws in the squad were exposed during a disastrous run of results in November.
Chelsea’s squad has been in need of repair for some time, and the recent spate of injuries has only accelerated their push for new players in the January window. David Fofana is expected to join as a striker next month, effectively replacing Broja, but the teenager isn’t a ready-made solution to the goal-scoring problems..
During the break, Potter has had the opportunity to look at players already at the club in the youth system for answers, and several names have stood out. Lewis Hall has earned a first-team spot, and Omari Hutchinson is not far behind.
In terms of out-and-out goalscorers though, there aren’t any, and that has opened up the opportunity for loan players to fill the void.
However, a major blow has been dealt here as well, with Huddersfield Town attacker Tino Anjorin being ruled out by manager Wes Fotheringham due to a worrying knock of his own. “Unfortunately, our playmaker, Tino Anjorin, sustained an injury during the pre-match training session against Sheffield United.” “According to the former Swindon Town goalkeeper. ”
We were about to start him when he suffered a severe ankle injury.”
Anjorin was a bright spark from the Chelsea academy who has been compared to Ruben Loftus-Cheek due to his frame and laid-back style while also running through teams in possession. Anjorin struggled to stay fit after making his debut under Frank Lampard and broke his foot while on loan in Russia in 2021.
His natural talent, combined with Potter’s faith in Cobham’s youth players, could have elevated him to an outside option for the manager for the remainder of the first-team season, but this injury has effectively ended that slim chance..
“We are devastated for him because he worked so hard in our training camp in Spain,” Fotheringham continued. He’s put himself in great physical shape, probably the best he’s been in his career so far, and Tino would agree.”
Anjorin spent the second half of last season on loan at Huddersfield and is back this season. In 2022, he appeared in 17 games for the Terriers, scoring three times.
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