Normally when Chelsea FC fans hear that one of the club’s regular starters suffered an injury during the international break there is an outcry of anger on social media. The supporters would decry the injustice of their star players being forced to play in often-times meaningless international matches and would blame national team managers for pushing the players too far.
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This past week however, things were a little bit different. Chelsea FC fullback-turned-scapegoat Branislav Ivanovic suffered a hamstring tear and according to Bleacher Report is expected to miss around three weeks. Even if Ivanovic returns from injury sooner than that he is at the very least expected to miss out on this weekend’s match with Aston Villa.
Blues fans quietly, and some not-so-quietly, celebrated the news and many were not ashamed to express their delight at the injury. Ivanovic has been a mainstay in the Chelsea lineup despite being one of the worst players in a blue kit this season. He has looked several steps too slow and has been exposed by nearly every winger he has come up against, including League One side Walsall’s Milan Lalkovic. Jefferson Montero and Dusan Tadic made Ivanovic look as effective as a traffic cone in stopping them and many of the goals scored against Chelsea have originated from attacks down the Serbian’s side.
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With the fans clamoring for Abdul Baba Rahman to start ahead of Ivanovic, particularly after his horrible performance against FC Porto, Jose Mourinho came out in support of him and said that the Blues would be vulnerable on set pieces without him. While that may be true, the Blues have been vulnerable from open play every time Ivanovic is on the field.
Mourinho has scapegoated players like Nemanja Matic and John Terry, and rightfully so, but for some reason Ivanovic has been untouchable in the Chelsea lineup. Many fans have joked that Ivanovic must have some dirt on the manager because there is simply no other justification for him remaining in the lineup despite his poor play.
This has been exacerbated by the fact that Chelsea spent £21.7 million on Baba Rahman but Mourinho has said that he is not ready for the spotlight. The 21-year-old defender may be young and inexperienced but he has played outstanding football in the Bundesliga so he is no stranger to the big stage.
Now with the injury to Ivanovic, Baba Rahman will finally get his chance to impress. The Blues are thin at fullback with only three in the current squad but Kurt Zouma could possibly be deployed there as well. Even if Zouma is an option Mourinho has two senior internationals fullbacks ready to go in Cesar Azpilicueta and Rahman and will likely lean on the both of them while Ivanovic is out with injury.
This is not the way that Chelsea FC fans wanted Rahman to get his chance or for Ivanovic to be removed from the lineup but there appeared to be no other way. Ivanovic could seemingly do no wrong in the eyes of his manager while his expensive replacement was sitting idly on the bench. Now Rahman gets his chance to prove he was worth his hefty transfer fee and cement his place in the Chelsea lineup for the next decade or so.
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