Chelsea fans will be happy about the latest injury update on captain Reece James given by head coach and manager Mauricio Pochettino ahead of their EFL (Carabao) Cup clash with Blackburn Rovers.
James had returned to training two weeks ago and was included in their last matchday squad to face Brentford. He came on as a forced substitution because the game was not going the way Pochettino had hoped. At the end of the match, there were concerns over his match fitness.
The former Tottenham Hotspur manager quelled the fears of the fans while fielding questions from the media ahead of their Wednesday Carabao Cup clash against Blackburn. His comments suggested that the 23-year-old right back was back to full fitness.
“I can confirm he is going to start”, Pochettino responded to the journalists’ questions. “The captain is ready. It’s good for the team, it’s good for him to start from the beginning. We can see after, checking always how he is performing.”
Pochettino also gave some fitness updates on Mykhailo Mudryk and Christopher Nkunku, two players who Chelsea fans are expecting a lot from this season.
Nkunku has not had a chance to show what he can do thanks to an injury he picked up during pre-season. Mudryk, on the other hand, has started to yield results but was out of the last matchday squad to tend to some muscle soreness.
Chelsea had released injury updates on the absent squad members and mentioned that both Mudryk and Nkunku are still recovering. Pochettino confirmed the news to journalists while giving an idea of when both players will be ready to take to the pitch for Chelsea.
The Argentine manager stated that Mudryk will return in time for their Premier League match on Monday 6 November 2023 but that Nkunku will have to wait a little longer for his official debut. Then he added, “I told you before, at the start of the season, a competition like the Carabao Cup or FA Cup is really important for us.”
“Tomorrow, we will try to play with our best team. Some players we will need to rest because after Saturday’s game we can’t take risks. But in general, we will try to play our best team.”
“All the players need to be ready to play tomorrow, and then we will decide. We are going to take it very seriously because we want to go far. This is a competition we can go through in.”
“It’s important for us to go forward in this competition, to build momentum, and after go to Tottenham and receive Manchester City with the trust and the confidence we can beat them also.”
