Chelsea FC are off until November 23rd, when they’ll travel to Leicester City. In the meantime, we’ll use this international break to look at the Blues current injury situation, which right now stands at three senior team players: Romeo Lavia, Cole Palmer and Jadon Sancho.
The west London side are sitting pretty right now, in third place at the November FIFA window; just four points behind second place Manchester City.
Romeo Lavia
He started alongside Moises Caicedo again yesterday, comprising one of the most expensive midfield duos in history. However, Lavia came off with about 20 minutes left, due to an issue that was not specified.
No update was given after the match either. Given how injuries limited him to just one half of one game last season, it’s very understandable why you might be worried about his being sidelined for a long term.
Cole Palmer
Enzo Maresca summed it up perfectly, in regards to Cole Palmer’s fitness levels: “We didn’t take any risks. He was a doubt until the end.
“He’s painful now but hopefully nothing important.”
He had been a doubt up until the game.
Jadon Sancho
The English winger has missed the last three, including the draw against his former club a week ago. An undisclosed illness and unspecified knock are the reasons for his being sidelined, and we’ll just have to see what happens after the November internationals.
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, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG.org. 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.