Pochettino explains why Nkunku was lacking from Chelsea’s squad vs Preston
Christopher Nkunku was notably absent as Chelsea’s crew record for his or her FA Cup third spherical assembly with Preston was introduced on Saturday night.
The 26-year-old not too long ago returned to Mauricio Pochettino’s aspect after recovering from an damage that saved him on the sidelines for 4 months.
Nkunku made a few appearances for Chelsea upon his return (largely from the bench), and even scored twice, earlier than Pochettino revealed throughout his press convention on Friday, that the Frenchman wouldn’t be within the beginning XI to face Preston on account of a health concern.
The coach nonetheless, did say that the previous RB Leipzig ahead could be on the bench for the sport, which made it all of the extra worrying when his title was lacking from the crew sheet.
It seems that Nkunku truly suffered a hip damage throughout coaching, and it was determined that it was finest to depart him out of the win in opposition to Preston altogether.
Requested concerning the participant’s absence throughout an interview, Pochettino advised the media: “Nkunku injured his hip in coaching.”
“They might want to see if he might be prepared for the subsequent few video games.”
From the appears of it, the damage is probably not something extreme, and there’s hope that Nkunku can get well on time to play in any or each of Chelsea’s video games in opposition to Middlesbrough and Fulham subsequent week.