Chelsea interim boss Calum McFarlane has confirmed that first-choice goalkeeper Robert Sanchez is ruled out of the Blues’ trip to Anfield to face Liverpool on Saturday.
Chelsea find themselves at a defining stage of their Premier League season, sitting ninth in the table and battling to avoid missing out on European football altogether.
Even with their league difficulties, the campaign is not beyond saving, as a looming FA Cup Final clash against Manchester City still presents an opportunity to finish the season with silverware.
Before that, the Blues face a must-win trip to Anfield to take on Liverpool, who have also endured inconsistency this season.
Injuries, however, are deepening Chelsea’s problems, with Sánchez now added to the growing list of absentees.
The 6ft 5in shotstopper was forced off during the recent 3-1 defeat at home to Nottingham Forest after a heavy collision with Morgan Gibbs-White.
Although he underwent further assessment, mandatory concussion protocols have ruled him out of an immediate return.
Filip Jørgensen, who recently returned to the squad after injury, replaced Sánchez from the bench against Forest and is now expected to start at Anfield.
Blow
During Thursday afternoon’s pre-match press conference, interim manager McFarlane also shared a fresh injury update on the Chelsea squad ahead of the trip to Merseyside.
On Sanchez, he said, ‘Rob is also not going to be available after the injury that he sustained.’
Further forward, the injury situation has done little to ease the Blues’ growing problems, with both Pedro Neto and Alejandro Garnacho expected to miss the clash against Liverpool.
The two wingers picked up knocks during training ahead of the defeat to Forest and have not recovered in time, leaving McFarlane short of wide options.
‘Neto and Garnacho are carrying knocks, so it’s looking unlikely that they are going to be available [against Liverpool],’ McFarlane said to reporters.
Those latest injury blows only add to an already stretched injury situation for Chelsea, with long-term absentees such as Estevão, Willian, and Jamie Gittens still unavailable.
The growing list of sidelined players has left the interim coach with very limited room to rotate his squad as the team continues to navigate a demanding and unstable final run of fixtures.
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