Chelsea will be without two of their big summer signings
Ben Chilwell and Hakim Ziyech are set to miss the start of the Premier League season through injury, report The Athletic.
Chilwell signed for the club while recovering from an heel injury sustained during Leicester’s win over Crystal Palace on July 4th, while Ziyech took a knock during a pre-season friendly against Brighton and Hove Albion.
Ziyech will is expected to be out of action for the next few weeks while Chilwell, who signed from Leicester for £50m this summer, could return in the next fortnight.
The positive news for Chelsea is that Christian Pulisic could make a premature return to the pitch after pulling his hamstring during the FA Cup final against Arsenal. The American winger has recovered more quickly than predicted and Chelsea hope he could feature in their opening fixtures provided there are no more complications with his recovery.
Thiago Silva has not started training yet after landing in London, still awaiting results from a COVID test having been on holiday in Sardinia. The 35-year-old joined on a free from PSG after eight years at the French club and Frank Lampard will hope he can bring some much needed leadership and stability to a young and error prone back line.
Two players who are fit and raring to go for the Blues though, are German duo Timo Werner and Kai Havertz, who signed from RB Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen respectively.
Chelsea’s first game of the season comes against Brighton on Monday 14th September, kicking off at 20:15pm and will be televised on Sky Sports, following news of every single Premier League game in September being televised, with games still taking place behind closed doors.
