Chelsea’s cruise past Malmo in Champions League play at Stamford Bridge was anticipated by many.
Few would’ve guessed the rain-drench pitch would cost the Blues a pair of strikers.
Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner limped off the pitch in London with Chelsea boasting a 2-0 lead on goals from Andreas Christensen and Jorginho. They’ve since scored a third through Kai Havertz.
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The Blues may need to find more unusual goal scorers with Lukaku and Werner joining Christian Pulisic among the walking wounded.
Havertz came in for Lukaku in the 23rd minute and Callum Hudson-Odoi took the place of Werner just before halftime. Both players are most likely to see increased playing time with the injuries, with youngsters Bryan Fiabema and Jude Soonsup-Bell on the periphery in PL2.
Werner appeared to be injured while sprinting but walked off the pitch, while Lukaku was injured during the Malmo foul that won Jorginho’s penalty.
Kai Havertz said that Timo Werner is set for an MRI on his hamstring, while Lukaku hurt his ankle according to Tuchel. Here’s the Chelsea boss, from the BBC:“We have a twist of the ankle for Romelu, and muscle injury and hamstring for Timo, so they will be some days out I guess.”
“The two were in good shape, they are dangerous, and can create and score so now we need to find solutions and guys who waited for their chance need to step up and score. The race is on, the guys who start against Norwich have our trust and we will try to find new solutions.”
Chelsea now prepares for a fairly forgiving stretch of schedule albeit across three competitions: Norwich City, Southampton, Newcastle. Malmo, Burnley.
