Christopher Nkunku will not play in Tuesday’s EFL Cup semi-final first leg against Middlesbrough, according to Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino.
After joining from RB Leipzig in the summer, the attacker suffered a catastrophic knee injury that kept him out of action for the majority of the first half of the season.
After making his eagerly anticipated Premier League debut against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Nkunku made his debut against Newcastle United in the EFL Cup quarterfinal.
After going on to make two more appearances, the Nkunku were absent for Sunday’s FA Cup third-round win over Preston North End due to a hip problem.
Speaking in Monday’s press conference, Pochettino explained that Nkunku remains sidelined through injury and will have to be assessed ahead of Saturday’s West London derby against Fulham.
It’s not related to his old injury, it’s a different problem,” Pochettino told reporters. “It’s a small issue in his hip, it’s not his knee.
“Now we have to be careful with him as it is six months he was injured. He was involved in a few games but now we are being cautious, so he will not be involved tomorrow and we will see for Saturday.
“We are not sure when he will be back but we are going to be cautious with him. We hope that it’s not a long period, but at the moment he’s not training, he’s doing recovery for his problem, but it’s not that big an issue.
The Chelsea boss also provided an update on the injury status of goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, who has been out of action since picking a knee injury in a defeat to Everton on December 10.
Pochettino added: “We just saw him, he came for another scan. The doctors need to see the scan and make a decision if we progress in his evolution or keep him away from training a little bit more.
Today we are going to have a clear idea after his scan, which was this morning. He won’t need surgery, it is only about the pace of the evolution and how he can improve in going from doing treatment to starting on the pitch.”
In addition to Nkunku and Sanchez, Chelsea are also without Wesley Fofana, Trevoh Chalobah, Benoit Badiashile, Reece James, Marc Cucurella, Ben Chilwell, Romeo Lavia, Carney Chukwuemeka and Lesley Ugochukwu.
Senegal forward Nicolas Jackson is another absentee, with the 22-year-old preparing to represent his country at the upcoming African Cup of Nations.
Chelsea are set to play Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium on Tuesday, before they return to Stamford Bridge for the second leg on January 23.
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