Spain sent Diego Costa back to London with a groin injury that will preclude Costa playing over the international break. Michy Batshuayi, get your boots on.
Sources differ over whether Diego Costa suffered the injury while training with Spain or in Chelsea’s win over Everton. Regardless of the source, the Spanish national team confirmed today that Iago Aspas will replace Costa and Costa will return to England.
Costa has missed games over the last two seasons with a series of hamstring injuries. There was no indication that this latest episode is a recurrence of those problems, but it stands to reason that it is related in some capacity.
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Given Costa’s injury history, Chelsea needs to proceed very cautiously with how they manage his time off, recovery and return. The Blues cannot afford to lose the Premier League’s leading scorer for an extended period, particularly with eight games in the six weeks starting next Saturday.
Chelsea’s first opponent after the international break is newly-promoted, 15th place Middlesbrough. The subsequent two opponents are Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City. That run of games leading into the holiday period should make for an easy decision for Antonio Conte and the physio staff.
Michy Batshuayi, get your boots on.
If you’re going to give a young player his first Premier League start, Middlesbrough is a good place to do it. If ever there were a game where you could get away with not having your leading goal-scorer, Middlesbrough is it. Sorry, no offence, it’s true (well, ideally, Sunderland, but….). And if ever there were back-to-back games where you needed to be as sure as sure can be that your leading goal-scorer is available and ready to play for 90 minutes, Tottenham and City are them.
Chelsea have had nine different goal-scorers in the Premier League this season and 11 in all competitions. As important as Diego Costa is, he is not the Blues’ only source of offense. Chelsea’s win over Everton showed what Eden Hazard and Pedro can do on their own. Previous games showed that Victor Moses and even N’Golo Kante can generate chances.
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The strength of Chelsea’s 3-4-3 is that it is a balanced team in every direction. Some players are more important in different facets than others, and some run the table (Kante, Cesar Azpilicueta). But Antonio Conte has built a squad that has no indispensable men. He should take advantage of his creation to maximize his lineups on the other side of Middlesbrough.
Regardless of how Michy Batshuayi plays, Diego Costa’s injury will reinforce Chelsea’s need for another striker in the upcoming transfer window. Before Chelsea can think about playing a two-striker formation, they need two top strikers and at least one backup. The Blues also need a top striker to fill in for Costa if he misses a prolonged period. Batshuayi can be a solid substitute, but no one expects him to be a full-time replacement for Costa any time soon.
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The club are well-acquainted with Costa’s injury history. The management and physio staff probably thought another injury was inevitable. There is never a good time to lose a player like Diego Costa, but this may be a good as it gets. Hopefully a look at the schedule will convince them to let Costa rest and give Michy Batshuayi his long-awaited bow.