Chelsea are facing an anxious period as they await clarity on a possible hamstring injury to Marc Cucurella after the loss to Aston Villa.
Unai Emery’s side turned the game around through two goals from substitute Ollie Watkins, overturning Joao Pedro’s opener that had capped a dominant first-half display from Chelsea.
That defeat leaves Chelsea in fifth place, three points behind fourth-placed Liverpool and ten points behind third-placed Aston Villa in the battle for Champions League qualification.
The left-back was forced to signal for a change during Saturday’s 2–1 defeat, completing 69 minutes before making way for Malo Gusto.
Cucurella has been a constant presence for Enzo Maresca this season, missing only 90 minutes across four Premier League matches and becoming the first Chelsea player to exceed 2,000 minutes this campaign.
Blow
With centre-back Jorrel Hato the main alternative on the left side, much of the workload has fallen on the Spaniard whenever available.
However, Cucurella is now due to undergo scans, casting serious doubt over his availability for Tuesday’s meeting with Bournemouth.
Adding to the frustration of the defeat, Maresca later confirmed Chelsea are now waiting on the results of tests to determine the severity of Cucurella’s potential hamstring injury.
‘Because he was complaining about his hamstring,’ he told his post-match press conference.
‘We don’t know if it’s an injury now or not. He asked for the change.’
Liam Delap and Estevao both returned from injury as second-half substitutes in the contest, but their introductions were not enough to stop Chelsea slipping to another home defeat.
Maresca will now be hoping Cucurella is fit in time for Bournemouth’s visit to Stamford Bridge in the coming days, while also demanding a sharper edge in front of goal than was on display on Saturday night. Despite dominating the opening half against Villa, Chelsea paid the price for missed chances as the visitors mounted a comeback after the interval.
