Chelsea have suffered another injury blow with Marc Cucurella set for a spell on the sidelines.
Mauricio Pochettino has had to deal with an array of injury problems this season, and Marc Cucurella now joins a long list of Chelsea players who are unavailable for selection.
According to journalist Fabrizio Romano, it “will take some time” for him to recover, with the defender expected to be out until February.
His absence on Saturday did not prove costly, as Chelsea were able to beat Sheffield United 2-0 at Stamford Bridge.
Levi Colwill started in the left-back position and will be expected to remain there after the injuries to both Cucurella and Ben Chilwell.
Mauricio Pochettino’s full-back nightmare
In the full-back position, Pochettino just cannot catch a break at the moment.
As well as Cucurella and Chilwell, the Argentine is also without captain Reece James. And like Cucurella, the England international is going be out for a while.
Pochettino recently admitted that James is feeling really frustrated right now, which is more than understandable.
The 24-year-old only recently recovered from another injury problem and missed a lot of games in the last two seasons because of fitness issues.
It is a shame because James is obviously a tremendous player, one Chelsea really want on the pitch.
In his absence, Pochettino is going to have to adapt. Cucurella has played at right-back at times this season, but with the Spaniard sidelined as well, it is up to Malo Gusto and Axel Disasi to cover that position.
The latter got the nod to start there in the Blues’ victory over Chris Wilder’s side.
Gusto, however, has just recovered from his own injury problems. Being a natural right-back unlike Disasi, you would expect him to take over from his compatriot while James remains sidelined. Chelsea’s next game is against Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup.