The past season wasn’t the best for Chelsea in the Premier League, and even the other competitions. The war in Ukraine had a significant effect on the Blues’ fortunes; the Roman Abramovich expulsion and more. On the field, things haven’t been moving much for Chelsea, even after splashing the cash to acquire top players on long term deals. Despite all the Blues have attempted, their boat has always seemed shaky, rocked by high tides and heavy storms. Now Chelsea’s woes have deepened as the list of injured players at the club is getting longer and longer. Some of the club’s top signings are yet to get their competitive debuts while other key ones are sidelined for the long term. Perhaps Chelsea will one day make for a study on squad expenditures and misfortunes that may accompany heavy investments in the playing units. It is also vital to add that Chelsea who finished in the bottom half, spent more on players than teams participating in the Champions League.
Boardroom revolution
After five rounds of matches the problems at Chelsea are well documented, the boardroom revolution and all. They lack the rhythm once seen at the club, they lack the goals and the players’ chemistry is clearly missing too. It will be a long way before they get their groove back but with the injury misfortunes this is bound to get even harder. The dismal results Chelsea have been posting are bound to continue for a longer period, and especially if available players continue being wasteful, as seen in the 0-0 draw with Bournemouth. A look at the top bookies today will reveal unusually high odds for Chelsea, a reflection of their current state. You can even check on the comparison of the best football bookmakers in 2023 for such, which are compiled on Cheekypunter, which come with top features for the betting community; the likes of Bet365, Betvictor, Betfred and more. Chelsea’s turn of events just about shows us how things can get volatile in the world of football. Just the other season, they were crowned the champions of Europe, yet now very few remain of that team that beat Manchester City to the title.
Knee injuries
As things stand, knee injuries form the biggest quagmire at Chelsea. Going into match Day 6 of the season, Chelsea have five players sidelined with knee injuries. Their most expensive acquisition, Moises Caicedo, is the latest addition to this list. There isn’t much shared about him but what we know is that he got injured in the last international break. Armando Broja, Wesley Fofana, Christopher Nkunku, Marcus Bettinelli and Cairney Chukwuemeka are the other players on this list with knee problems. On that list, Wesley Fofana will be out the longest, with his scheduled return date being June 2024. For Nkunku, if all goes well he might get his Chelsea debut in December, as he is listed for a 16th December 2023 return. Benoit Badiashille, Trevor Chalobahand club skipper Recce James are out with thigh injuries.
