Chelsea chiefs are on red alert and are believed to be seriously concerned after a recent injury update emerged regarding one of their star players, according to reports.
What's the latest news involving Chelsea?
According to The Guardian, Chelsea are remaining calm despite their early season struggles and will keep faith in Mauricio Pochettino as the underlying data behind their performances suggests that results will eventually improve.
The report claims that 'key performance indicators' show that the Blues have been effective both in and out of possession and that their collective work rate isn't in question, with more than one statistical analysis platform coming to the conclusion that they should be much higher in the Premier League standings.
In conversation with The Times, Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola has questioned the lack of experience available in the current squad Pochettino has at his disposal following a summer of upheaval at Stamford Bridge that saw several established players depart.
Zola stated: "I am surprised so many experienced players left. My understanding is they are planning to build a team within the next three or four years but players left that were there a long time and that won a lot – [Cesar] Azpilicueta, Jorginho, [Kai] Havertz, [Mateo] Kovacic— players that probably everyone looked up to. You need those players. In difficult moments you rely on those players. So many left and that doesn’t help the situation."
Chelsea travel to Craven Cottage on Monday night to face Fulham and will be without suspended duo Nicolas Jackson and Malo Gusto, as per The Evening Standard. Wesley Fofana, Benoit Badiashile, Romeo Lavia, Christopher Nkunku, Carney Chukwuemeka, Trevoh Chalobah, Marcus Bettinelli and Ben Chilwell will also miss out due to various injury concerns.
What's the latest on Bel Chilwell's injury?
According to Football Insider, Chelsea defender Chilwell's latest injury has made Pochettino and chiefs around Stamford Bridge 'seriously concerned' after he limped off in the 1-0 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion in the Carabao Cup due to a hamstring problem, which may be a reoccurrence of a previous issue for the England international.
The outlet claim that Pochettino has indicated that his injury "doesn't look good" and has warned Chelsea fans to expect some less than ideal news surrounding his current situation soon.
Chilwell has made seven appearances in all competitions for Chelsea this campaign, registering a solitary assist in the process against Liverpool on the opening day of the Premier League, as per Transfermarkt.
Featuring slightly further up the left-hand side at times under Chelsea boss Pochettino, Chilwell, who was labelled as "fantastic" by Frank Lampard in 2020, has been able to offer a substantial offensive threat, averaging around 1.2 shots and 1.5 key passes per match in the English top flight, according to WhoScored.
In their clash against Fulham on Monday, Blues winger Mykhailo Mudryk could be given an opportunity to start in his absence after he received a standing ovation in Chelsea's triumph over Brighton at Stamford Bridge. Nevertheless, Pochettino and the Chelsea faithful will hope that Chilwell doesn't miss too much action despite concern over his injury, which is understandable when factoring in that the 26-year-old missed three months of 2022/23 with a similar issue.