It’s only the preseason, but the injury bug has already bit Chelsea FC, pretty hard. No. 2 goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic has missed and will miss the entire USA tour due to an unspecified injury. New transfer window addition Omari Kellyman is out injured for the clash against Club America in Atlanta, Georgia while another new summer signing, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, has yet to make his Chelsea debut due to an unspecified minor injury.
Meanwhile we have some new transfer window additions! Goalkeeper Fillip Jorgensen will undergo a medical, ahead of his £21 million move.
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Kickoff: Wednesday July 31, 7:30pm EST, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA, USA
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The same is true for defender Aaron Anselmino, who will undergo a medical, ahead of his £15.6 million move. While Jorgensen will now join up with the rest of the squad in the USA, Anselmino will be immediately loaned back to Boca Juniors, as he’s an acquisition for the future, not the present.
Finally, Chelsea allowed Trevoh Chalobah and Alfie Gilchrist to stay back in London, and skip the tour, so that they can find new clubs to play for. Neither will be in the plans of new manager Enzo Maresca for this season. So it’s best for them to find new destinations.
This is an Olympic year, and Atlanta is on the very short list of past Olympic host cities. So maybe, if these two teams have some down time while they are in town, they can visit the city’s Olympic historical sites. If there was an Olympic event for not playing any defense at all, then Chelsea would have gold-medaled Saturday afternoon in South Bend against Celtic.
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. 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, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.