Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has given his opinion on new signing Christopher Nkunku’s knee injury, stating that it was not due to sub-par pitch conditions.
Chelsea played out a 1-1 draw in their friendly clash with Borussia Dortmund at the Soldier Field Stadium in Chicago on Wednesday. Just 22 minutes into the match, the French attacker came off with discomfort in his knee. Later, he was seen applying an ice pack to his injured knee.
Chelsea need a “few days” to assess Nkunku’s knee injury
Following the draw, which saw Chelsea’s Mason Burstow cancel out Marius Wolf’s opener, Pochettino talked about the former RB Leipzig man’s injury. At the press conference, he said (via Reuters):
“The doctors are checking him and I hope it is not a big issue. He fell in the action which was maybe a penalty and he feels something in his knee, but we hope it is nothing big.
“We hope he can be back quickly with the team. We need a few days to assess him.”
Chelsea lose Nkunku to injury in a friendly draw with Dortmund ⚖️ pic.twitter.com/5teqUCe1WW
— 433 (@433) August 3, 2023
Pochettino does not blame the pitch for Nkunku injury
The stadium, which has a capacity of 61,500, hosted an Ed Sheeran concert over the weekend, where a record 73,000 people turned up. The pitch conditions were far from ideal when Chelsea took to the field, but Pochettino did not think that the injury had anything to do with the turf.
The Argentine tactician continued:
“We took some risks because the pitch is not perfect. The facilities are used for a different sport and that is sometimes the risk of the tour.
“We won’t blame the pitch for the injury though. For me, it was bad luck.”
Unless the doctors spot something serious, Nkunku should be one of the first names on the team sheet when Chelsea welcome Liverpool to Stamford Bridge for their Premier League opener on August 13.
Nkunku, 25, joined the Pensioners for a $76.19 million fee from Leipzig in July, signing a six-year deal. The France star has thus far participated in five friendly encounters, scoring three goals. At Leipzig, where we plied his trade between the 2019-20 and 2022-23 seasons, the forward scored 70 goals and claimed 56 assists in 172 appearances in all competitions.
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