Mykhailo Mudryk also out against Luton Town; Roméo Lavia, Armando Broja not yet ready

Chelsea continue to collect injuries faster than wins or points (or goals), with Mykhailo Mudryk adding his name to the wrong list now as well. Our highly priced (and highly prized?) yet struggling winger will miss out against Luton Town tomorrow with an unspecified minor injury.

Also unavailable will be Roméo Lavia and Armando Broja, with both just coming up to fitness: the former practically still in preseason and the latter still in the final stages of his ACL rehab.

“[Mudryk] is not going to be available for tomorrow. Very disappointed because of the situation, he played 45 minutes against West Ham. He is a player we hope to help play in the way believe he can perform. Disappointed but at the same time it is not a big issue. Maybe one week or a few days.”

“[With Broja] with need to wait also. He’s close but sometimes you are close but last step is difficult after the injury he suffered. He has trained well, we have hope also.”

“[Lavia] needs a few weeks to be ready to be involved with the team. He is working to try and catch his teammates. For Romeo we need to wait a few weeks but Moisés [Caicedo] is ready.”

All that considered, Chelsea are thus up to double-digits in absentees once again, joint-top in the league with Sheffield United. And unfortunately, a lot of ours are long-term (or recurring) and to key players, such as Reece James or Wesley Fofana or Christopher Nkunku or Carney Chukwuemeka. Trevoh Chalobah, Benoit Badiashile, and Marcus Bettinelli complete the list, and we could certainly use them as well.

Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images

Pocchetino’s not panicking but is certainly hoping that this situation will improve in the future. However, given our recent history in this regard, he probably shouldn’t be holding his breath.

“I think it is a bit unlucky in some injury like with Carney on Sunday. That is football. Better it happen from the beginning then we can be consistent with all of the players fit. It is true, a little bit unlucky with many of the injuries, the problems but I am positive and for sure we are going to compete well tomorrow.”

“[We] are assessing the squad and all of the things that happen. It is easy to say we need another offensive players, but I think we have offensive players and they need to recover.

“If you bring in a player that is not fit or needs to adapt to the Premier League, maybe you are going to spend the same time you wait for Broja, or Nkunku or Carney. Then you are going to create a mess in the squad. That is why we are working really hard to analyse the situation.”

-Mauricio Pochettino; source: Football.London

A win on Friday night would help a bit with the positivity.