Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has hinted that one of Chelsea’s injured cast could now make his debut for the club this weekend.
He said in his pre-match press conference that they will assess tomorrow whether Christopher Nkunku is going to be able to feature at in the Premier League for the very first time against Brighton on Sunday.
Nkunku impressed during the pre-season tour of the United States, however an injury in the final friendly has pushed back the date of his debut for the club.
As we now enter December, the Frenchman is yet to feature and this has left a void in the attack that he was signed for £52m to spearhead.
There was a big boost for supporters when he was first spotted back in training, with the potential for him to feature alongside form players such as Cole Palmer and Raheem Sterling very exciting.
Pochettino has now hinted that the day could be coming sooner than many expected, with them reportedly assessing tomorrow whether Nkunku can be involved.
Pochettino on Nkunku
He said: “We need to assess tomorrow and then decide. They are close, but we need tomorrow to make a decision. Maybe Lavia is the more difficult [one] but we need to assess Nkunku for tomorrow.”
It is likely that he will not be thrown straight in from the start after his long layoff.
Instead, it is perhaps expected that he will be eased back into action in a similar way to Reece James after his own issues kept him out for a large portion of the season’s beginning.
The captain is one player who will not be on the pitch come Sunday, after he picked up a foolish red card last weekend against Newcastle.