Chelsea injury update: Malo Gusto, Ben Chilwell and Reece James latest news and return dates
Chelsea remain in the midst of a major injury crisis.
While the Blues remain in with a chance of qualifying for Europe, the inconsistent nature of their season continued on Saturday during a disappointing 2-2 draw at home to relegation-threatened Burnley.
They host Manchester United next but Mauricio Pochettino remains without a host of key players.
With that in mind, here is all the latest Chelsea injury news and return dates.
Malo Gusto
Another international break scare for Chelsea came when Malo Gusto withdrew from France’s Under-21 squad last week. He was fit for the game against Burnley but limped off in the closing stages.
Standard Sport understand Gusto could yet be fit to face United, however, given he was only suffering from cramp on the weekend
Potential return date: April 4, vs Manchester United
Ben Chilwell
Ben Chilwell’s injury problems continued after the defender returned from England duty with a knock.
He missed the draw with the Clarets and continues his spell on the sidelines in midweek due to illness.
“We didn't see Chilly from Friday because the doctor and the medical staff removed from his knee a lot of fluid after coming back from the national team,” said Pochettino. “Saturday, he got ill and wasn't [in] Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. He is at home trying to recover.”
Potential return date: April 7, vs Sheffield United
Robert Sanchez
Sanchez has lost his starting spot since being injured, being relegated to cup games.
It was against the recent win over Leicester that the goalkeeper picked up a knock which will rule him out for this weekend, at least.
He is now back in training
Potential return date: April 4, vs Manchester United
Trevoh Chalobah
The defender had started each of Chelsea's last four matches before missing the draw with Burnley, forming a partnership with Axel Disasi having finally returned to full fitness.
Pochettino has described the injury as “not a big issue” and he is back in contention this week.
Potential return date: April 4, vs Manchester United
Romeo Lavia
Like Nkunku, Lavia has been beset by injury woe since joining Chelsea in a high-profile summer transfer, with ankle and thigh problems limiting him to just one substitute’s cameo for the club so far.
Chelsea confirmed on Wednesday that he will not play again this season.
Potential return date: Summer/autumn 2024
Carney Chukwuemeka
Chukwuemeka proved his worth to Pochettino by coming off the bench to net a crucial late goal against Leicester.
However, he has had a very stop-start campaign with injuries and has now withdrawn from England Under-21 duty ahead of their European Championship qualifier against Luxembourg on Tuesday, having not featured in the thumping win in Azerbaijan on Friday.
Chelsea said that Chukwuemeka had “returned early to work on his fitness at Cobham, as he looks to play a key role in the remainder of the season”, so it doesn’t sound like he is suffering from any issue that will keep him out for long.
Potential return date: April 2024
Levi Colwill
Colwill has not played since the 2-2 west London derby draw at Brentford at the beginning of the month after suffering a toe injury.
Updates have been few and far between since then, with the versatile defender not in contention for England selection.
Colwill has been undertaking his rehabilitation programme and could return later this month.
Potential return date: April 15, vs Everton
Reece James
Pochettino has confirmed captain Reece James may not play again this season after undergoing hamstring surgery way back in December.
Potential return date: Unknown
Christopher Nkunku
Nkunku has dealt with a succession of injury problems since arriving in west London, having made only 10 appearances for Chelsea to date.
He managed a run of games in February having being sidelined for a further month after waiting some six months initially for his competitive debut, but suffered a hamstring problem in the Carabao Cup final defeat by Liverpool at Wembley.
Pochettino said then that he expected Nkunku to miss “a few weeks”, so will be desperate to have him back sooner rather than later after the international break.
“It is longer than we expected,” he added on Wednesday. “It was after the final where he played 30 or 40 minutes and we found out after the game. This type of circumstance, not only him but too many players this season.”
Potential return date: Spring 2024
Lesley Ugochukwu
Ugochukwu has missed three months of action now with the recurrence of a hamstring injury sustained in the defeat by Wolves at Molineux on Christmas Eve.
In January it was reported that the midfielder could be out for up to six weeks, but there’s still been no sign of a return.
Potential return date: Spring 2024
Wesley Fofana
The luckless Fofana suffered a serious knee injury before Chelsea’s pre-season tour last summer and needed surgery on his ACL.
He seemed to be making good progress in his recovery after being pictured in light training at Cobham, though Pochettino admitted earlier in March that it was “difficult to see” the French centre-back playing again this season.
Potential return date: Summer 2024
