Monterrey lose star striker to injury ahead of Chelsea match

Monterrey were sweating on the health of Humberto Suazo as they prepared to take on Chelsea in the semifinals of the Club World Cup, and it's bad news for the CONCACAF champions -- they'll be without the services of their best player for the remainder of the tournament, as 'Chupete' has headed back to Mexico for treatment on a muscle tear in his thigh:

Humberto está definitivamente descartado, el médico nos pasó el diagnóstico tendrá que volver para la recuperación; es un gran jugador y un referente para nuestro equipo en ataque.

[Humberto is definitely out; we ran a medical diagnosis and he will need to recover. He is a great player and a leader for our team in attack. He is a player that we rely on, but we are able to act with what we have.]

-Monterrey head coach Victor Vucetich. Source: MedioTiempo.

That, of course, is good news for Chelsea, as the 31-year-old Chilean would have been problematic for the defence to keep an eye on on Thursday. The Blues were favoured with or without Suazo playing, but this does make life a lot easier. Despite Monterrey's emphatic win over Ulsan Hyundai, they're simply not as good a team without their star forward, and the stage looks set for a fairly straightforward path to the final. That does mean that should Chelsea not make it through against the Rayados, it'll be even more embarrassing, but so it goes.