Chelsea defensive midfielder Dario Essugo suffered an injury blow before Brentford clash

Dario Essugo has been injured whereas touring with Portugal’s Below-21 group, including to Chelsea’s ongoing damage woes. After becoming a member of the Blues for £18.5 million in June from Sporting, the midfield participant has but to start out a sport and is at present in a race to be match for Saturday’s West London derby in opposition to Brentford.

Essugo is seen as Chelsea’s backup to Moises Caicedo, and his absence will restrict Enzo Maresca’s selections within the midfield. The Portuguese Soccer Federation revealed the character of the issue in an announcement: Because of a muscular problem in his proper thigh that he developed after coaching, the Chelsea midfielder was excused from apply. After being assessed by the Well being and Efficiency Division of the Portuguese Soccer Federation, the athlete was deemed unavailable.

Chelsea already lacks quite a few vital gamers, corresponding to Cole Palmer attributable to a groin problem and Levi Colwill attributable to an ACL rupture. Romeo Lavia, Benoit Badiashile, and Liam Delap are additionally out, making the group seem lean at a pivotal level within the season.

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Essugo has made three appearances instead, all in opposition to Palmeiras, ES Tunis, and LAFC on the Membership World Cup. Regardless of being benched in all three of this season’s Premier League video games, he has but to make his league debut.

Romeo Lavia and Benoit Badiashile are comparable. The 2, who’ve been out of motion for a very long time, have been seen enjoying earlier this week on the membership’s coaching camp. Nevertheless, contemplating their respective damage histories, this Saturday may very well be too quickly for them, and Maresca is attempting to be cautious to forestall such points sooner or later.

Maresca now has to decide on between rearranging his midfield choices and relying extra on Caicedo, which could put on him out with a busy schedule. This most up-to-date setback highlights Chelsea’s rising difficulties in putting a steadiness between squad efficiency and health throughout a season that has already tried their depth.