Chelsea injury update: Cole Palmer, Reece James, Malo Gusto, Filip Jorgensen latest news and return dates
Enzo Maresca will be forced to experiment in defence when Chelsea return from the international break.
The Blues were held by Crystal Palace last time out to leave them 11th in the Premier League table, after what has been an inconsistent start to the new season.
Chelsea travel to face Bournemouth on Saturday and are without both Malo Gusto and Reece James at right-back, leaving Maresca short of options.
There has also been an injury scare over Cole Palmer, after he withdrew from England duty, and summer signing Filip Jorgensen.
Here’s a look at the latest Chelsea injury news...
Cole Palmer
Palmer was called up to the England squad for matches against the Republic of Ireland and Finland, but withdrew last week due to “ongoing issues” and returned to Chelsea.
Reports suggest Palmer has been contending with muscle fatigue, and he has been left out of the Blues’ squad for the Europa Conference League to help manage his workload.
But the 22-year-old has trained with Chelsea this week and is likely to available for Bournemouth after resting during the international break.
Potential return date: September 14, vs Bournemouth
Reece James
Another hamstring injury has kept James out of the first three Premier League games of the season, though he would have been suspended for those anyway after his red card against Brighton in May.
The Telegraph report that the right-back is still a couple of weeks away from returning to training and Maresca said on Friday that James “needs more time” as he recovers from his latest injury.
Potential return date: Late September 2024
Malo Gusto
With James out, Chelsea find themselves short at right-back with Gusto also sidelined.
The right-back was forced off against Crystal Palace before the international break with a thigh injury and then withdrew from the France Under-21 squad.
Maresca confirmed on Friday that Gusto has been ruled out of the Bournemouth game.
Potential return date: September 21, vs West Ham
Filip Jorgensen
Chelsea goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen is a doubt for the weekend after being forced off while playing for Denmark Under-21s against Czech Republic on Tuesday.
It remains unclear what injury the summer signing picked up but Denmark U21s boss Steffen Hojer expressed concern for the player.
"I don’t really know. He’s being checked. I don’t know how bad it went, but it was certainly [bad] enough for him to go off," he said, Campo report.
"I just asked if he was okay. He was annoyed that he had to go off, but hopefully it is not something that is really wrong."
Potential return date: Unknown
Romeo Lavia
Lavia started the opening game of the season against Manchester City, but he missed the last two League matches with a hamstring issue.
Maresca has described it as “not a huge concern”, easing fears of another significant problem after Lavia was absent for almost the entirety of last season.
Ahead of the Bournemouth game, Maresca said Lavia is “very close” to returning and “hopefully for the next game”.
Potential return date: September 21, vs West Ham
