‘Many doubts’ for injury-hit Chelsea ahead of Watford clash – Conte
Chelsea boss Antonio Conte said on Friday afternoon he was still unsure of his team selection for the game against Watford because of the Blues’ injury concerns.
Victor Moses is sidelined, but most of Chelsea’s worries are in midfield.
Summer signing Danny Drinkwater is still recovering from a calf injury, N’Golo Kante is out and both Tiémoué Bakayoko and David Luiz picked up injuries during the Champions League draw against Roma this week.
Luiz, who was deployed in midfield for the Roma game, sustained a calf injury, while Bakayoko was left nursing a groin strain.
Both players will be assessed ahead of Watford’s visit.
Conte acknowledged there was a chance Cesc Fabregas could be Chelsea’s only senior midfielder available.
“At the moment I can tell you nothing about the starting 11 tomorrow. There are many (injury) doubts,” Conte said.
“I hope in this 24 hours to try to recover some players.”
On a brighter note for Chelsea, a follow-up scan has indicated that Kante could return from a hamstring injury sooner than expected.
And Conte has responded to a report in The Times suggesting that Chelsea’s players are unhappy with his training methods and believe they could be contributing to the recent injury problems.
