£51.5m Chelsea star suffers muscle injury ahead of Arsenal game
Chelsea have suffered a fresh injury blow ahead of the second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night.
The Blues picked up a 3-2 comeback win over West Ham United in the Premier League on Saturday to climb to fourth in the standings.
Jamie Gittens got the nod to start on the right wing by manager Liam Rosenior, but he lasted for just 26 minutes before being replaced by Pedro Neto.
The £51.5 million signing was grimacing in pain after sustaining a muscle injury, and he is a huge doubt for the upcoming League Cup semi-final clash.
Arsenal already have a 3-2 advantage after the first leg of the semi-final at Stamford Bridge, but they still have work to do to make the final at Wembley.
Gittens’ absence is a potential blow for the Blues, but the west London outfit have plenty of alternative solutions, including Neto, Estevao and Alejandro Garnacho.
Estevao may not be available for the Cup tie, having recently returned to Brazil for personal reasons, but Arsenal still have a challenge on their hands in the derby.
Garnacho came off the bench to score twice in the reverse leg, and the Gunners must be wary of the Argentine’s threat from the left wing on Tuesday night.
Arsenal have reacted well after the 3-2 league loss to Manchester United. They won 3-2 against Kairat Almaty in Europe before a resounding 4-0 league win at Leeds United.
Mikel Arteta’s side were anticipated to face a tough challenge at Elland Road, but they made it easy with a comfortable victory and should have scored plenty of more goals.
They go into Tuesday’s game with momentum on their side. The same can be said for Chelsea, who have won five matches on the bounce under Rosenior since the first leg loss.
Hence, it promises to be an entertaining midweek affair. Arsenal will aim to make the Carabao Cup final for the first time since 2018, when they lost to Manchester City (3-0).
Stats from Transfermarkt.com
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