Willian aims for quick recovery from hamstring injury, sets target date for return

Even though Willian has not featured regularly in Chelsea’s starting lineups for well over a year, he’s still made an appearance in almost every single game. In fact, he had been working on a Premier League-best 50-match appearance streak, while also playing in 68 of 69 matches in all competitions dating back to the middle of last season for the Blues.

All that came to a crashing halt against Arsenal in Chelsea’s losing effort in the League Cup semifinal, as the 29-year-old picked up a rare injury that ruled him out of the weekend’s 3-0 win over Newcastle in the FA Cup as well as tomorrow’s league match against AFC Bournemouth.

Fortunately, the slight hamstring strain is not expected to keep him down for too long. Talking to ESPN Brasil yesterday, Willian has targeted next Monday’s match against Watford for his return.

“[Today] I will start taking some light and specific training on the field, as part of this transition [to get back to the fold]. The idea is that I will be out of Wednesday’s game, against Bournemouth, but I will be able to return against Watford [next week].”

-Willian; source: ESPN Brasil

Willian may not be a star on the level of Eden Hazard, but his 4 goals and 6 assists in the Premier League and several good performances, especially lately, have been very important to the Chelsea cause, just as they had been since his arrival in 2013.

Good luck on the treatment, Willi!