Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has given a worrying update on forward Christopher Nkunku, stating that he is unsure if Nkunku will play again this season. The 26-year-old French international has been dealing with injuries since his mega-money move to the Premier League last summer.
“I don’t know. Still, we don’t know. At the moment we do not know when it is possible for him to start training with the team,” Pochettino stated.
“At the moment he is not training with us. It did not happen [a setback]. I have no information about that. His recovery is taking longer than we expected. That was after the final [League Cup final]. He played in the final with a problem that we did not know about and found after the game,” Pochettino told reporters.
“There are different circumstances that affect things. It is not only him. Too many players have suffered injuries this season. We hope that he can be involved again quickly. As soon as possible. It will be really good if he can join the team again before the end of the season. We hope that will happen,” Pochettino said.
The French international picked up a hip injury that abruptly ended his playing time. His last appearance this season came in the Blues’ Carabao Cup final defeat against Liverpool on February 25. He has since returned to the treatment table where he has club captain Reece James in company. There other top names in the Blues treatment room including Lesley Ugochukwu, Wesley Fofana, Levi Colwill and Romeo Lavia.
Malo Gusto, Carney Chuckwuemeka, Trevoh Chalobah and Robert Sanchez meanwhile, have returned to team training. Ben Chilwell is absent from the visit by Manchester United on Thursday due to injury.