Graham Potter gave an injury update on Ben Chilwell, Kepa Arrizabalaga, and Denis Zakaria ahead of Chelsea’s clash with Arsenal on Sunday.
Despite having already topped their Champions League group, Chelsea opted to name a relatively strong side against Dinamo Zagreb on Wednesday.
That ended up having consequences, as Ben Chilwell and Denis Zakaria seemingly went off with injuries. After the game, Chelsea boss Graham Potter revealed that it was likely bad news for Chilwell, but not for Zakaria.
“Obviously, when [Chilwell] pulls up like that it’s a concern,” Potter admitted. “Obviously, we need to scan it but it’s not positive at the moment.
“To see him pull up like that, it’s not a great sight. So fingers crossed when we get it scanned it isn’t too bad. It can be not as severe but we have to cross our fingers at the moment.
“[Zakaria] just got a kick. Just the contact. He was fine. No problems with him.”
The other piece of injury news related to one of Wednesday’s absentees, Kepa Arrizabalaga. Potter ruled the goalkeeper out of the Arsenal clash on Sunday, but he played down fears raised by the sight of the Spaniard on crutches.
“He won’t be okay for Sunday,” Potter confirmed. “It’s only precautionary in terms of keeping the weight off it, the bottom of his foot. He is progressing well.”
Chelsea have a few other players out at the moment, with Wesley Fofana, Reece James, and N’Golo Kante all set to miss the Arsenal clash.
However, Mateo Kovacic should be available again, as he was only absent against Dinamo Zagreb as a precaution.
In summary, it looks like Chilwell, Kepa, Fofana, James, and Kante will all miss the Arsenal match. Kovacic should be available to start, whilst Zakaria is also likely to be fit for the squad, but may not start given Wednesday was only his debut for Chelsea.