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Chelsea might have won 3-1 against Sunderland, but the Blues paid a price for their three points. Oriol Romeu, starting in place of the suspended John Obi Mikel, picked up a knee injury very early on and although the midfielder tried to battle through it he was quickly withdrawn and replaced by Oscar. With the club flying out to Japan to take part in a glorified set of friendlies known as the Club World Cup this evening, said injury has essentially forced Romeu off the squad.
Fortunately, Mikel is not suspended for international matches, so we're not ridiculously light on midfield (we will be come Leeds away in the Capital One Cup, but that's a story for another day), but there is a hole there that's just begging to be filled. Step forward George Saville:
Off to Japan with the team now for club World Cup championships. #CFC
— George Saville (@GeorgeSav_) December 8, 2012
It's not entirely clear whether or not the inclusion of Saville is the result of the Romeu injury -- there's some suggestion that he was already in the squad before today's match -- but either way it's a very cool opportunity for the youngster. Hopefully we won't need him. And bad luck Romeu, too.