Investigations are underway after Chelsea called in police following the disappearance of expensive equipment from the west London team's Cobham training ground
Enzo Maresca
Enzo Maresca leads training(Image: Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)
Police have been called into Chelsea's Coham training base after the disappearances of £30,000 worth of materials. The Blues have been rocked by the vanishing of camera equipment from their training ground.
The west London side called in Surrey Police, according to reports, after the hi-tech gear was lost and the incident was deemed suspicious enough to involve authorities. Despite that, it is said it remains unclear whether the equipment has been mislaid but the severity of the incident has seen action taken in a bid to resolve the mystery.
Chelsea, like other elite football clubs around the world, extensively utilise video footage to analyse training in addition to matches in a bid to improve players' all-round games. The equipment is utilised by the world champions as they illustrate technical and tactical plans and issues.
The Blues returned to training on Monday after requiring a late summer break following their Club World Cup campaign. They had little time to rest ahead of the tournament in the United States and defeated Paris Saint-Germain in the final to add a second trophy to Enzo Maresca's collection after UEFA Conference League success.
The club's time in the US did not come to an end until July 13, meaning Chelsea's stars had just three weeks to recover. Maresca's side kickstart their Premier League term on August 17.
The Blues have already been hit by injury in their preparations too. In a press conference ahead friendlies against Bayer Leverkusen and AC Milan, head coach Maresca revealed a blow Levi Colwill suffered in an early session.
"We had a problem the last two days about Levi Colwill," he said. "We don't know how long he will be out for. Hopefully not too long. It's a problem.
"We need to wait. We don't know yet."
Levi Colwill
Levi Colwill is injured(Image: Image Photo Agency/Getty Images)
The Italian may soon be able to call upon some defensive reinforcement however. Wesley Fofana has returned to training and could be it enough to take to the field for the club's first Premier League match against Crystal Palace.
"Wes (Fofana) is back, he is training with us," he said. "I don't think he is ready for minutes in the next two games but he can be ready for the Palace game which is good news."
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