Injury Update on Chelsea’s N’Golo Kante, Antonio Rudiger & Mateo Kovacic Ahead of Newcastle Clash

?Chelsea’s squad has been ravaged by injuries this season, and they are currently dealing with a whole host of issues ahead of their meeting with Newcastle United on Saturday.

No less than seven of the Blues’ first-team players are currently battling various injuries, meaning Frank Lampard may need to get creative with his lineup for the upcoming game.

Juergen Klopp,Antonio Ruediger

The latest updates on the ?Chelsea squad come from The Athletic’s ?Simon Johnson. The first player discussed is ?Antonio Rüdiger, who is believed to be fit after recovering from a groin injury, although he is still unlikely to feature against ?Newcastle.

Instead, the German is expected to feature in some more Under-23 games to help build up his match fitness, given he has missed so much first-team action since initially getting injured back in April.

Next up is fellow defender Andreas Christensen. The Dane is also unlikely to feature after picking up a hamstring injury, but the club have sent him for further tests to try and determine the severity of his issue.

?N’Golo Kanté is also a doubt for the game after picking up a groin injury whilst warming up for France’s 1-0 win over Iceland. He did take part in some light training and was even included on the bench for Les Bleus’ second game of the break, but he is not expected to be risked on Saturday.

However, it’s not all doom and gloom for Lampard. Midfielder ?Mateo Kovacic, who was withdrawn at half-time of Croatia’s 1-1 draw with Wales could feature against Newcastle. It is hoped that his leg injury was only a minor knock, meaning he could recover in time.

Left-back Emerson is also nearing his own return from injury. The Italian has missed several weeks with a hamstring issue, but is expected to return to face Ajax in the ?Champions League next week.

Emerson Palmieri

The only two players who aren’t discussed are ?Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Reece James. The former is still battling his Achilles injury, although is thought to be closing in on a return to action.

As for James, he has been training with the rest of the Chelsea squad after dropping out of England Under-21 duty, so there is a chance he could feature against Newcastle.


For more from Tom Gott, follow him on Twitter!

Let’

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.