Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino has shared in his pre-match press conference for Brighton that one senior player faces a late fitness check to be available.
Chelsea return to action on Wednesday night when they travel to Brighton for their penultimate game of the Premier League season.
The Blues go into the midweek fixture sat seventh in the division table, with the chance of finishing in the European spots still quite high. They wrap up the campaign up on Sunday with a home fixture versus Bournemouth.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side recorded a 3-2 win over Brighton in the reverse fixture, so should take some confidence into Wednesday.
Mauricio Pochettino gives update on Chelsea player
Pochettino has confirmed that Chelsea’s Ben Chilwell is “really close” to making his return from injury.
The £50m left-back (Sky Sports) hasn’t played since 20 April because of a knee problem, but his comeback could happen before the campaign ends. He may need to wait until Bournemouth and watch the match against Brighton from the stands, depending on the late fitness check.
Pochettino said in his press conference via Chelsea’s official YouTube channel: “Chilly (Chilwell) is really close, but not 100% to be part of the squad. Carney Chukwuemeka, also. We need to assess if they can be in the squad for tomorrow. If not for tomorrow, maybe for the weekend.”
Ben Chilwell returns to trickier situation
It looked extremely rosy for Chilwell at the start of the season, becoming Chelsea’s vice-captain and emerging as an important individual for Pochettino’s side.
However, it’s been another injury-hit campaign for the 27-year-old defender, whose position in the best XI should now be under threat.
Marc Cucurella has started the last 10 consecutive Premier League matches for Chelsea, where he’s really grown into this role as an inverted left-back. In fact, it could be hard for Chilwell to force his way back into the line-up when you compare what you’ve seen from the two over the course of a season.
The immediate question is can Chilwell prove his fitness to make sure he’s in Gareth Southgate’s England squad this summer at Euro 2024?
Beyond that, can he be the long-term first-choice left-back at Chelsea moving forward?
