Christian Pulisic, Raheem Sterling ruled out for ‘hopefully’ less than two months as Potter welcomes ‘confident’ João Félix

Chelsea’s injury list could be back down to single digits (woohoo!) for tomorrow’s game at Craven Cottage against Fulham, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang expected to return from the minor issue with his back that prevented him from traveling to Manchester on Sunday.

And some of our other walking wounded are making positive progress, too, with Reece James, Ben Chilwell, and Ruben Loftus-Cheek all getting closer.

In less great news, Graham Potter confirmed that both Christian Pulisic and Raheem Sterling are facing extended spells on the sideline, perhaps as long as two months as they deal with knee and hamstring injuries, respectively.

“Pierre is fine and he’ll be in the squad for the game. Christian is a couple of months we think, hopefully, less, but that’s the timeframe. Raheem less but we’re still evaluating the extent of it. Hopefully less than that, though.”

“[Loftus-Cheek] is getting closer, Ben is getting closer. Reece was out on the grass today, not training with the team but on his own. N’Golo did his first couple of days out training on his own but there is still a long, long way to go. But it felt more positive. To see the guys out there, it gives everyone a lift.”

Speaking of giving the team a lift, the arrival of young stud João Félix is expected to do just that. The 23-year-old loan signing has already joined training and should be available for tomorrow’s game — he was announced just past noon GMT today, which was the Premier League’s registration deadline for this match. Félix will wear the No.11 shirt, which had belonged to Timo Werner the last couple years.

Photo by Joupin Ghamsari/Chelsea FC via Getty Images

Potter was vague on how exactly Félix might help the team — he’s always vague on such questions — but hey, maybe we’ll do it on just vibes alone.

“He’s a quality player, can make a difference in the final third of the pitch, young but has obviously had a lot of really good experience. He’s a quality player that gives everyone a lift. [He] has qualities as player as a second striker between the lines and making something happen in the final third. We’re looking forward to working with him.”

So what you’re saying is he’s a quality player?

“It’s not just one person to solve the problems. You have to fix the team, attack better, create chances, and then whoever is playing then can score and the team can win. That is the focus. Clearly, though, João is a top player, a talented player, and he can help the team.”

“[He] has been training regularly and had game time, so from a physical perspective he can go in. It’s always a bit of an unknown going from one country to another and there is always an adaptation period, but how long that takes goes from player to player.

“I see a confident person, a confident player, a player that can impose himself on the game. His personality and attributes are that he can take the ball in tight spaces, make the difference in the final third, and play passes. I think he compliments what we have as well so I’m looking forward to working with him.”

-Graham Potter; source: Football.London

Here’s to making a difference.