Christopher Nkunku, a French forward who recently suffered a knee injury against Borussia Dortmund, has already given Chelsea cause for concern regarding an injury.
The 25-year-old played just 22 minutes in a friendly match at Soldier Field in Chicago after being acquired by the Blues this summer for £53 million ($67 million) from RB Leipzig.
Nkunku fell after a challenge from Mats Hummels, and although he was able to continue for another ten minutes, Mykhailo Mudryk eventually had to take his place.
When asked for an update on Nkunku, Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino provided the following statement to the club’s official website: “The doctors are checking him and I hope it is not a big issue. He fell in the action which was maybe a penalty and he feels something in his knee, but we hope it is nothing big. We hope he can be back quickly with the team. We need a few days to assess him.”
The Argentine refused to attribute Nkunku’s injury to the awful Chicago playing surface, adding: “We took some risks because the pitch is not perfect because the facilities are used for a different sport. We won’t blame the pitch for the injury, though. For me, it was bad luck.”
Nkunku has made an impression in his early appearances for Chelsea, scoring in preseason matches against Wrexham, Brighton, and Fulham. However, he now faces a race against time to make his competitive Premier League debut for the heavyweights on August 13 against Liverpool.
