Cucurella, James & Palmer: Latest Chelsea injury news and expected return dates ahead of Hull clashplaceholder image
Cucurella, James & Palmer: Latest Chelsea injury news and expected return dates ahead of Hull clash | Getty Images
The latest Chelsea injury news and return dates ahead of Friday’s FA Cup tie with Hull City - including an update on Marc Cucurella.
Chelsea are back in action on Friday night when they play Hull City in the fourth round of the FA Cup – but Liam Rosenior’s preparations have once again been complicated by injury problems.
Defenders Reece James and Tosin Adarabioyo are among the doubts heading into the game at the MKM Stadium, while there is significant concern over the status of left-back Marc Cucurella, who appeared to pick up a potentially significant injury during the 2-2 midweek draw against Leeds United.
With kick-off rapidly approaching, we’ve collected all of the latest Chelsea injury news and the expected return dates for the absent players below.
How long will Chelsea’s Marc Cucurella be out for?
Spain international Marc Cucurella had to be substituted at half-time during Tuesday evening’s game against Leeds, with a hamstring issue believed to be the culprit. The extent of the damage was expected to be determined by a scan on Thursday, but the club have yet to make the results public.
Spanish newspaper AS has reported that the national team are concerned that Cucurella could miss the forthcoming international break in March, which would suggest that there is a genuine fear that the injury could be serious – but that has yet to be proven to be the case.
Speaking on Wednesday, Rosenior told the press that it was “too early to know” how bad the injury was, but acknowledged that the left-back was “definitely out of the game against Hull.”
As it stands, there is no way to know whether Cucurella will be out for the long haul, but it’s possible that he joins Jamie Gittens, another victim of a hamstring injury, on the sidelines. Gittens’ injury was severe enough to rule him out for up to two months, with a late March return the optimistic target.
Reece James among doubts for Hull clash - and will Cole Palmer be rested?
Another player who could miss out on Friday night is club captain Reece James, who missed the Leeds match due to illness. Rosenior informed the media that James had been taking part in “modified” training during the week and that a late decision would be made on his availability for the Hull game due to what was described as a “really bad bug.”
Centre-half Tosin Adarabioyo has also been in training after missing six matches due to a hamstring problem, and is in contention to play with Rosenior commenting that the defender was “looking good.” Reserve goalkeeper Filip Jörgensen, who could deputise for Robert Sánchez if available, is expected to be fit following a lay-off caused by an undisclosed injury.
While there are no fresh concerns over the health of key playmaker Cole Palmer, Rosenior is expected to continue to manage his minutes after an injury-interrupted first half of the campaign. With Palmer playing the full 90 minutes against Leeds - scoring and providing an assist in the process - it is unlikely that he is in the starting line-up on Friday evening.
The Hull match is expected to come too soon for Belgian midfielder Roméo Lavia (thigh) although the 22-year-old should be back by the end of February, while another young midfielder, Dário Essugo, could return in early March after suffering a setback in his rehabilitation from a serious thigh injury of his own.
The other Chelsea players who will be unavailable for the FA Cup fourth round match are centre-back Levi Colwill, who is unlikely to play this season after rupturing his ACL, and winger Mykhaylo Mudryk, who remains suspended due to an alleged doping violation.
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