Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior has provided an injury update on Spanish left-back Marc Cucurella after he was left out of the squad to face Hull City in the FA Cup on Friday.
Cucurella is one of Chelsea’s most important players and has made 35 appearances already in all competitions this season.
Last season, the former Barcelona and Brighton left-back logged 4,346 minutes across 54 matches in all competitions, the most of any player in the squad.
There were growing concerns that injuries could flare up, as with Cole Palmer this season, and that appears to be the case, as he was completely left out of the trip to Yorkshire.
Having started the Premier League clash against Leeds United at Stamford Bridge, he was substituted at the interval after complaining about pain in his thigh before being replaced by Jorrel Hato, who also started the game against Hull.
Speaking after the Leeds clash, Rosenior said:
‘Unfortunately, at half-time, he felt his hamstring. It wasn’t a tactical change — it was one that was enforced.
‘Cucu is one who has been at the top, and hopefully he will be okay. We will scan him and make sure we find out if he is available for the next game.’
Blow
In his absence, the Blues ran out convincing 4-0 winners, thanks to a first career hat-trick from Pedro Neto and a goal by Estevão, to advance to the fifth round, with Jorrel Hato filling in at left back.
Rosenior was then asked for an update after the Hull match, and he said:
‘At the moment he’s not fit,’ the Chelsea head coach said. ‘There is an issue with his hamstring.
‘I don’t know — I can’t give you a time frame on that at the moment.’
Cucurella was not the only absentee for the victory over Hull City A.F.C., as Cole Palmer was also missing from the matchday squad.
There was no injury concern, though. Liam Rosenior explained that Palmer’s omission was purely a matter of managing his playing time, saying he was ‘managing, managing him’ during his post-Hull presser.
