Chelsea are seeing a number of injury problems mount up and threaten to derail their challenge to finish in the top five in the Premier League.
Their last game against Arsenal saw them line up without Cole Palmer for the first time this season due to injury, and he is now set to remain at the club during the international break.
It has been claimed Palmer actually suffered the injury against Copenhagen, however played on as the Blues struggled past their opponents in the Conference League.
The likes of Noni Madueke and Nicolas Jackson have been missing for crucial games of late, and the impact of their absence was on display when they struggled to create any real chances against the Gunners.
Enzo Maresca has at least been able to welcome back a number of defenders to his squad recently, with Benoit Badiashile, Trevoh Chalobah and Wesley Fofana all being welcome returns.
Photo by Chris Lee - Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Photo by Chris Lee – Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Omari Kellyman out injured for the rest of the season
He will have been hoping the same would have been the case soon for youngster Omari Kellyman, who was signed for big money last summer.
The former Aston Villa man has not made a first team appearance yet for the Blues, however was hoping that his nightmare run of injuries were coming to an end.
This doesn’t seem to have been the case though, with Kellyman taking to his personal Instagram page to confirm he would now be out for the rest of the season.
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He said: “Beyond gutted to say that this season has come to an early end for me due to a reinjury of my hamstring, despite only just returning after having hamstring issues for a massive part of this season.
“24/25 has been a tough season for me mentally and physically due to injury but it’s important now that I take time to get this right and come out the other side stronger and better ready for what next season brings.”
There was excitement over the addition of the attacking midfielder, with former manager Umai Emery believing Kellyman is ‘brilliant’.
Omari Kellyman was close to Chelsea debut
After what had been another hamstring injury suffered earlier this season, it seemed as if he was finally ready to make his first appearance as a player for the senior side.
Kellyman was targeting April for a return to action, with him back in training and potentially ready to offer Maresca a new option in attack.
Number 10 is Kellyman’s best position, and the recent injury and form woes for Palmer could have seen an opportunity come up sooner than many expected.