07 January 2024 , 07:44
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Mauricio Pochettino confirmed that Christopher Nkunku has suffered an injury setback which caused him to miss Chelsea ’s win over Preston in the FA Cup.
Chelsea produced four goals in the second half to batter the Championship side and reach the fourth round of the competition on Saturday evening. After a frustrating first half, the Blues turned it on in the second, with headers from Armando Broja and Thiago Silva followed by a free-kick from Raheem Sterling and a close-range finish from Enzo Fernandez.
It was a comprehensive victory for Chelsea, but it came with an unwanted piece of news from Pochettino after the final whistle. Nkunku was missing from the squad at Stamford Bridge and the Chelsea manager confirmed the reason behind it in his press conference.
Asked about the difficulty of getting Broja, Nkunku and Romeo Lavia back to full fitness, Pochettino said: “It's really tough, I think you empathise with us. The circumstances are really tough from the beginning of the season. It's true with Broja, Nkunku, Lavia. Sometimes it is difficult to explain to you and to translate to our fans.
“When we talk about the case of Nkunku, we don't want to put pressure on him. We know it is difficult after a long time injured. Six months away is always tough. Like now he wasn't involved because he suffered after training yesterday a problem in his hip and we need to see if he can be ready for the next few games. That is the problem.
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“They need time but need to play also to get the best and we cannot provide this game time to players who need to go and feel the competition because we need to win. We are in Chelsea and need to win.
Christopher Nkunku has picked up a hip injury (Andrew Kearns/Getty Images)“Sometimes it's really tough to explain to the players who feel the pressure to perform and to play. They want to help the team. Sometimes it is difficult to explain but if you understand football you realise how tough it is.”
Nkunku missed the first five months of the season with a serious knee injury which he sustained in pre-season at the start of August. The £52million forward finally made his Chelsea debut in the 1-1 draw against Newcastle on December 19, but managed just four games and one goal before picking up a hip injury.
Nkunku is far from the only player who Chelsea have missed through injury this season. And while the likes of Wesley Fofana, Reece James, Marc Cucurella and Robert Sanchez remain sidelined, Pochettino did offer an encouraging update on others.
“We are so close with [Ben] Chilwell, [Benoit] Badiashile and [Carney] Chukwuemeka but we need to see every day the evolution. Then it's about if we can improve but they are so close. Always the risk is really important and seeing how the players perform in the training session.
“All of the players when they go to the session all feel they are ready. If you ask they say 'I know myself' but 99.9 per cent they make a mistake. They don't know themself. Our opinion is good to see if they are available or not.”