Mauricio Pochettino refused to connect Christopher Nkunku’s knee injury to the condition of the Soldier Field pitch, despite the setback affecting Chelsea’s preparations for the upcoming season.
Chelsea’s recent £52 million signing suffered a left knee injury during a match in Chicago and is now uncertain to participate in the upcoming clash against Liverpool at Stamford Bridge.
The injury occurred during a collision with Borussia Dortmund’s Mats Hummels, and further scans will be conducted to assess its severity.
The poor condition of the playing surface at Soldier Field was a concern throughout the game against Dortmund, attributed to the venue hosting an Ed Sheeran concert the day before.
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The subpar condition of the pitch at Soldier Field led to uneven bounces, impacting both teams during the match. Chelsea’s Thiago Silva was seen expressing his frustration to Pochettino about the patchy surface. However, the manager stated that Nkunku’s injury was merely a result of “bad luck.”
As quoted by the Evening Standard, he said:
“The doctors are checking him. He feels something in his knee but hopefully, it is not a big issue and he can be quick with the team. Now we need a few days to assess him and until we get back to London it is difficult to know.”
“I think it was a bit unlucky in the situation but we cannot complain about the pitch and blame the pitch for why he suffered the injury. For me, it was bad luck.”
Nkunku’s injury is a huge blow for the Blues, as they have already lost a lot of attacking firepower this summer. They have signed Nicolas Jackson to form a strong attacking duo with the French attacker.
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The former RB Leipzig star has been in good form for Chelsea in the preseason games and the fans will be hopeful that he returns before the start of the new season.
Although the summer transfer window is still active and the club can sign more players, they can’t let their current bunch of players be sidelined so close to the new season.
