Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenoir has said that left-back Marc Cucurella injured his hamstring in the 2-2 Premier League draw at promoted Leeds United on Tuesday (February 10).
The Spaniard started at Elland Road, where Joao Pedro opened the scoring inside 24 minutes. However, Cucurella didn't emerge after the break because of a hamstring injury, which was confirmed by the Blues boss post-match as he explained why Jorrel Hato came on (as per Metro):
"Unfortunately at half-time he felt his hamstring. It wasn’t a tactical change; it was one that was enforced. Cucu’s been top, and hopefully he’ll be okay. We’ll scan him and make sure we find out if he’s available for the next game."
Going back to the game, Cole Palmer doubled the Blues' advantage from the spot just before the hour mark to put his team in the ascendancy. However, Leeds fought back, pulling one back through Lukas Nmecha from the spot midway through the second period before Noah Okafor equalised 16 minutes from time.
The visitors had chances to win the game late on but couldn't convert as a share of the spoils ensued. Reflecting on the game, Rosenoir added:
"It was two key moments in the game that we didn’t take care of, when we didn’t stay calm. Moi Caicedo’s a magnificent player. He’s been top for me, but he makes a poor decision.
"How the play gets there as well, we made a few poor decisions in terms of how we press in that moment and we give away a penalty."
Ruing the missed opportunities to take the victory, he concluded:
"The ridiculous thing for us is that they’ve managed to score two goals in a five-minute period, when for the other 90 minutes of the game we were by far the better team. We just made poor decisions in key moments."
The stalemate snapped Chelsea's four-game winning run in the league, keeping them fifth in the standings, with 44 points from 26 matches, winning 12, trailing leaders Arsenal by 12 points.
What's next for Chelsea?
Chelsea FC
Chelsea FC
Following their aforementioned Premier League draw at Leeds United in midweek, Chelsea travel to Hull City next on Friday (February 13) for a place in the fifth round of the FA Cup.
Eight days later, they return to action in the Premier League, taking on Burnley at home in their last match of the month as they seek to stay in touch with the top four in the league.
Liam Rosenoir's side exited the EFL Cup earlier this month, losing 4-2 on aggregate to Premier League leaders Arsenal in the semi-finals, going down 3-2 at home in the first leg and 2-1 at the Emirates.