Chelsea FC might be on the verge of a total injury crisis right now, so any time they get any kind of positive fitness news, it’s a huge boost. And that’s what they got, in the form of summer transfer additions Marco Palestra and Emmanuel Emegha. Both of the new signings have resumed full training, so they should be in contention to make the squad against AFC Bournemouth, nine days from now.
Yes, this international break really is dragging on quite long!
The break has been plenty long already, and we still have nine more days until the next game! Palestra (quad injury) and Emegha (hamstring complaint) have had injury-riddled starts to their careers in west London, so they have yet to make their debuts for the southwest London club.
Perhaps that will comes next weekend? While there is good news on Emegha and Palestra, there is some bad news with Jamie Gittens and Mike Penders.
Jamie Gittens
The more serious of the two new injuries, suffered this international break, is Gittens.
“Jamie got a kick on his ankle,” said England U21 manager Lee Carsley.
“We never take any risks. With the age of these players, we don’t ever keep them in camp to see how they are. He will go back.”
Gittens left England’s Under-21s match against Kazakhstan on crutches, and he was also pictured wearing a protective boot.
So it sounds like he’s going to be sidelined for awhile.
He has since returned to the club, for further medical assessment, and we should get another update before too long.
Mike Penders
The young goalkeeper picked up a quad injury while on international duty with Belgium. He missed out against France on Monday, but he still remains with the national team camp, so that is probably a good sign.
Additional Concerns
The following players -Moises Caicedo, Cole Palmer, Reece James, Joao Pedro- are also current Chelsea injury concerns, but there have not been any significant updates of any sort since we last covered them at this link and this link.
Squad Injury Updates: September/October International Break
Real Madrid Liverpool FC Chelsea Part 1 Chelsea Part 2 Manchester United Arsenal Manchester City Tottenham Hotspur Everton Aston Villa Part 1 Aston Villa Part 2 FC Barcelona Newcastle United Part 1 Newcastle United Part 2 Newcastle United Part 3 Bayern Munich Borussia Dortmund Leeds United
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, Ratings and RG. 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.