The medium-term availability of Marc Cucurella (hamstring) remains up in the air, with Liam Rosenior offering no concrete update amid reports that his first-choice left-back could be set for 3-4 weeks on the sidelines.
“I can’t give an exact timeframe on Marc. He’s suffered a hamstring injury; he suffered it before half-time in the Leeds game.
“It’s a real shame because he’s an outstanding player, he’s one of the best left-backs in the world, but we have Jorrel [Hato], we have Malo [Gusto] who can play on that side. We’ve got really good players that can cover. The sooner he gets back the better” – Liam Rosenior on Marc Cucurella
The fitness of Cole Palmer and Reece James is becoming a regular hot topic in Rosenior’s pre-match pressers, and this week was no different.
Thankfully for the Blues boss, there appeared to be some good news on that front ahead of Gameweek 27 home meeting with Burnley.
“I’ve been asked that question a few times since I’ve been in. It’s a really hypothetical question, it’s based on day by day. Not just those two players, it’s how each player feels.
“At the moment, they’re both fully fit, they’re both available for selection, they both trained really, really well today.” – Liam Rosenior when asked when he would need to stop managing the minutes of Cole Palmer and Reece James
Romeo Lavia (quad) has a chance of being involved, having returned to training recently after several months on the sidelines, but Chelsea are understood to be handling his reintegration very carefully, and it therefore remains to be seen if he will play any part this weekend.
Jamie Gittens (hamstring), Dario Essugo (unknown), Levi Colwill (knee) and Mykhailo Mudryk (suspended) remain on the injury list, meanwhile, and there was again no update on Filip Jorgensen despite the back-up goalie failing to feature since being described as “close” to full fitness at the back-end of January.
