What was once considered by many to be the deepest squad in the Premier League and perhaps even in Europe is looking paper thin these days. The first culprits were some puzzling transfer moves like letting Joao Felix and Carney Chukwuemeka leave on loan to AC Milan and Borussia Dortmund on deadline day.
The second culprit, and the more serious one considering the unpredictable nature of it, is the injury bug that has made its way around the Chelsea forwards and wingers. In the West Ham comeback which seems like a lifetime ago, the Blues lost two strikers in Nicolas Jackson and Marc Guiu in a 30-minute span. This has left them without a natural striker to lead the attack and it has severely stunted the squad to the point where they did not register a shot on goal in 90 minutes against Brighton.
With Guiu and Jackson already sidelined, the Blues have also lost Noni Madueke for about a month thanks to a hamstring injury that happened early in that loss to Brighton. Perhaps if Madueke was able to play longer the Blues would have at least recorded a few shots on goal on the stat sheet. Lastly, Mykhailo Mudryk is also not a current option for the Blues as he is still serving a suspension for doping and we currently do not have a return date set for the Ukrainian.
Chelsea have targeted the next international break as the potential marker for the return of their attacking players as well as Wesley Fofana and Benoit Badiashile to bolster their defense. The break is from March 21-24 and the next fixture is an April 2nd date with Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge.
This injury crisis has hit Chelsea at an inopportune time as they are heading into the home stretch of the Premier League season and are still in contention for a Champions League spot. It has already cost them 3 points through the Brighton loss in the Premier League and a potential domestic trophy as they crashed out of the FA Cup, also at the hands of Brighton.
The Blues will also have to face FC Copenhagen in the UEFA Conference League without their top attacking options as the round of 16 legs will take place on March 6th and 13th with the second leg taking place at Stamford Bridge. Copenhagen currently sits first in the Danish Superligaen table ahead of FC Midtjylland on goal difference so they will be no pushovers in European competition.
Earlier this month we noted that the Nicolas Jackson injury opened a door for Christopher Nkunku to make a big impact and he has failed to do so. This Madueke injury will now give an opportunity to Pedro Neto and Jadon Sancho to make a difference and bounce back from disappointing spells.
The Blues need their summer signings to get back to their early season form and start taking over matches once again. Enzo Maresca has no choice but to turn to them and youngster Tyrique George because there really is no one else to go to at this point. The Blues painted themselves into this corner and they will need their manager and his reserves to get them out of it.