Finally the thinning?
Plagued by injuries for more than a year, Christopher Nkunku was able to participate in his first meeting in 2024. Returning to competition a month after a hip problem contracted in Luton (3-2, December 30), the The French international, who entered at the break, scored the only goal for the Blues, his second of the season, crushed on Wednesday by Liverpool (4-1).
Injured a knee during summer preparation, the former Leipzig player only played his first Premier League match with Chelsea on December 24 against Wolverhampton, before participating in two other championship matches.
Nkunku has fun in the Liverpool area to reduce the gap!
đ#LIVCHE |
#PremierLeague pic.twitter.com/UeKfxhrv5A
â CANAL+ Foot (@CanalplusFoot) January 31, 2024
The return of the player trained at Paris Saint-Germain, who appeared only four times in official matches in December, raises great hopes for Chelsea, often penalized this season by a lack of offensive success.
If he finally manages to string together matches in the coming weeks, Nkunku (10 caps) could even apply for the two Blues matches scheduled at the start of spring against Germany, then Chile, on March 23 and 26 at Lyon and Marseille.
Indeed, the absence for around two months of Kingsley Coman, injured this Saturday January 27 in the left knee and already out of this rally, will free up a place in attack.
Nkunku, who had already missed the World Cup in Qatar after a sprained knee that occurred just before leaving for the Emirate, continues to be monitored by the Blues staff.
At 100% of his resources, he would leave with a clear advantage against the competition embodied by Moussa Diaby (Aston Villa), or even Bradley Barcola (PSG).
Liverpool kept their runner-up Manchester City to five points by dominating head and shoulders a Chelsea team (4-1) overtaken on Wednesday by the commitment of the leader and relegated to tenth place after 22 days.
The Blues could move down another notch in the standings in the event of a victory on Thursday for Wolverhampton (11th, 29 pts) against Manchester United (9th, 32 pts).