Cesc Fabregas looks doubtful for the Community Shield clash against Manchester City after posting a picture on his Instagram of his “new best friends”, a pair of crutches. This apparently follows recent updates about getting treatment on his knee, though I couldn’t actually find any of these on his Instagram. (Then again, I’m old so I could just be lost and confused.)
While Fabregas also says that the crutches are only for “a couple days”, they’re not exactly a confidence-inspiring development in terms of his status for Sunday’s semi-competitive curtain-raiser for the new season.
Fabregas came off at HT yesterday and did two stories on Instagram of him getting massage treatment around his knee area and now posted this #CFC pic.twitter.com/Na38k3NLvt
— CarefreeYouth (@CarefreeYouth) August 2, 2018
Fabregas has been a key player for Sarri in preseason thus far, starting all three games alongside Jorginho and Ross Barkley in the center of midfield, even if that’s not exactly the ideal configuration for it (it shouldn’t be one holder and two number-10s). With N’Golo Kante still not back from post-World Cup vacation, Sarri already revealed that he was planning on starting most of the same eleven as he did yesterday. Now, he probably will have to rethink some of those plans.
If Fabregas can’t go, which seems likely just based on this cursory diagnosis, one of Danny Drinkwater, Tiemoue Bakayoko, or Ruben Loftus-Cheek (who has just returned and is thus likely to be lacking most in fitness and tactical assimilation) is likely to deputize.