Not sure what Chelsea did to deserve their FA Cup draw, but if you’re a Blues supporter, I’m sure you’re loving it right now. Their opponent, Port Vale, is dead last in the League One, the third tier of English football. So this is a clash between the 6th place and 68th place teams in the overall pyramid. The southwest London club does have a long injury list though, and we’ll cover the likes of Reece James, Benoit Badiashile, Jamie Gittens, Filip Jorgensen, Trevoh Chalobah and Levi Colwill. Lots to go over, so let’s get straight into it.
FA Cup Quarterfinals FYIs
Port Vale at Chelsea
Kickoff: Sat. April 4, 5:15pm, St. Mary’s Stadium, Southampton, UK
Full Detailed Chelsea Injury List: Part 1 Part 2
How They Got Here:
Chelsea: Wrexham 4-2, Hull City 4-0, Charlton 5-0
Port Vale: Sunderland 1-0, Bristol City 1-0, Fleetwood 1-0
Blues Team News
Let’s commence with El Capitan, whose hamstring injury return timeline renders him out here. Even if he was on the fence/touch and go for this one, Liam Rosenior would not risk him in a match like this anyway. Moving on to Badiashile, he missed out last time due to an unspecified virus/illness, so he should be fine here. Elsewhere Filip Jorgensen and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens are both moving closing towards a return, but their situation is similar to James- we likely won’t see them play here.
It’s looking like April 12, versus Manchester City, is the most likely return date for them. Moving on to Trevoh Chalobah, his ankle/foot problem will keep him out until May while Levi Colwill (knee) is likely done for the season.
Colwill could be ready in time to make a very late season appearance, but I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. And then finally, Mykhailo Mudryk remains suspended indefinitely.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, RG, Ratings and SportsBoom. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.