Photo by Steve Christo - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images
Photo by Steve Christo - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images
Aaron Anselmino’s terrible luck continues at Chelsea after suffering an injury in pre-season.
Aaron Anselmino’s career has unfortunately been heavily disrupted by recurring hamstring and muscle issues, causing him to miss numerous games during loan spells at Borussia Dortmund and Strasbourg.
Since joining Chelsea, those fitness struggles have heavily limited his playing time and prevented him from getting a consistent run of games.
During the current pre-season tour, he managed brief substitute appearances, featuring for 28 minutes against Tottenham and starting against Johor Darul Ta’zim before Anselmino’s progress was dealt another cruel blow when he was forced off in tears with a suspected hamstring injury inside the first half hour.
Chelsea's pre-season results
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
According to The Athletic, Aaron Anselmino limped off in the club’s friendly against Johor Darul Ta’zim on Sunday but he was taken off as a precaution and there is hope it is not as bad as first feared.
This comes as a positive for a player who has had a torrid recent history of things, but more so for his personal ambitions of breaking through at Chelsea and developing.
It’s unlikely that he remains at Stamford Bridge this summer due to the sheer amount of competition at centre-back, but at his age, a positive loan could easily work himself into contention in the future.
What is Aaron Anselmino’s situation?
Let’s not write him off just yet, though, as Simon Phillips reckons there’s a chance of Anselmino staying with the first-team due to his versatility.
We’ve already seen signings like Marco Palestra and players like Josh Acheampong and Morgan Rogers, who all have the ability to play in numerous positions.
This seems to be Alonso’s way of counteracting injuries as the season progresses, with players having the ability to move into different positions seamlessly.