Chelsea have had terrible luck when it comes to losing their first-team players to a host of different injuries, which has held them back and caused a lot of trouble for Mauricio Pochettino. Now it appears that the injury sustained by Lesley Ugochukwu could force them into making a decision on the future of Andrey Santos.
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How Lesley Ugochukwu’s Injury Could Impact Santos
The Evening Standard’s Nizaar Kinsella has reported that Ugochukwu is now expected to be out of action for six weeks after re-injuring his hamstring before the loss to Wolves in the Christmas Eve fixture last month. It is added that the injury to the Frenchman has now handed the young Brazilian midfielder an “increased chance” of staying in the squad for the second half of the campaign.
Santos has already been recalled from his initial loan spell at Nottingham Forest, where he was only able to make two appearances and did not get enough game-time for Chelsea’s liking. Kinsella adds that the midfielder is not rushing into finding another club despite attracting loan interest from clubs in the Championship as well as Crystal Palace because of how injuries are hampering the Blues’ squad.
Chelsea Facing Midfield Issues
Apart from Ugochukwu, Pochettino is also without his other two young midfielders in summer signing Romeo Lavia and Carney Chukwuemeka. Enzo Fernandez isn’t fully match fit either as he struggles with a hernia problem, leaving Chelsea with only Conor Gallagher and Moises Caicedo as the available midfield options.
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That is probably why they might decide to keep Santos in the first-team squad for the remainder of the campaign. The young Brazilian has already been hailed as a “beast” for his physical prowess and praised for being gifted in his technical aspects too. The 19-year-old has excelled for Brazil’s youth teams, having scored six goals in 11 appearances for their under-20 side. He’s yet to really feature much for Chelsea’s senior squad, but it remains to be seen if that changes going forward.
One key stumbling block may be the Olympics. The youngster is expected to join up with the Brazilian squad for qualifying matches which would see him miss out on club action from January 20 to February 11.
