Liam Rosenior had some unfortunate injury news to bring to Chelsea fans when he sat down for his pre-match press conference ahead of the game against Wolves.
The boss confirmed that Jamie Gittens had suffered a torn hamstring, ruling him out of action for a prolonged period of time.
Gittens has endured a nightmare start to life at Stamford Bridge. He is yet to score a goal in the Premier League or Champions League.
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Despite this, Gittens had been tipped to thrive under Rosenior, and has suffered this setback at the worst possible time.
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Jamie Gittens injury creates pathway for Jesse Derry at Chelsea
With Tyrique George departing in the final hours of January, the Blues now need to look deeper to find a natural replacement, and should search no further than Jesse Derry.
The 18-year-old joined from Crystal Palace over the summer, and has arguably been the academy’s best-performing player this season.
So far this season, the winger has 11 goals and four assists, including five strikes in the UEFA Youth League.
Derry originally joined the club because of Enzo Maresca, and the club would do well to convince him that it is still the right place for him now he has departed.
Jesse Derry warms up for England ahead of the game against Germany in the European Under-19 Championship.
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Rosenior well aware of Derry’s talents
Derry has trained under Rosenior already, with the manager clearly very aware of his talents already.
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The manager has a reputation for developing younger players from his time working at Strasbourg, and that will no doubt be on the agenda at Stamford Bridge too.
With no transfer window available to tend to their needs, the Blues need to find an answer from within, and Derry provides just that.
The club have been too hesitant to provide youngsters an opportunity in the past, and this contributed to the departure of Rio Ngumoha before Derry came into the side.
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