Jamie Gittens appeared to suffer an injury during the first half of Chelsea's clash against West Ham. The 21-year-old winger, whom the Blues signed from Borussia Dortmund for an initial £48.5m during the summer of 2025, was replaced by Pedro Neto inside the opening half hour.
Shortly after Gittens went down, Anthony Taylor waved medical staff onto the pitch. He received some treatment and was eventually helped to his feet before being ushered off the pitch.
Neto, who was hooked at half-time of Chelsea's midweek win over Napoli in the UEFA Champions League, was introduced a few moments later. Liam Rosenior would have hoped to see the change breath new life into his side, who went 1-0 down in seven minutes.
However, the Hammers went on to double their lead. Crysencio Summerville latched onto a cross from Aaron Wan-Bissaka, smashing the ball past Robert Sanchez.
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The West Ham forward raced into the box, and Malo Gusto, who was forced to leave Pablo unmarked at the box post to close down the strike, arrived a little too late to the duel. Rosenior was well aware of the Hammers' threat, describing the fixture as the Blues' 'biggest of the season'.
"Tomorrow [vs West Ham] is the biggest game of the season, it’s very simple," said the Chelsea boss at Cobham on Friday afternoon. "I am going to find out so much.
"We’re in a good place. If you want to be a consistent winning team, these are the games where you have to step forward and not be complacent.
"After an away win in Italy, to come back three days later, I want to see the consistency levels of the group, that’s why this is a massive marker of where we’re really at."
Rosenior added: "It's not about how important it is for me; it's important for the club. I'm part of a team, part of a club, and part of an organisation.
"I don't walk away from the game in Naples thinking, 'that was massive for me'. That’s not what it’s about. It’s massive that we got through. I don’t see life in that way.
"We need to keep winning games of football. My focus is now on West Ham. It’s not about a statement win or what people outside the club say about me.
"It doesn’t make any difference. I want to win every game that we play. The way to make people like you is to win."
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