It’s the international break again, depriving teams of all momentum and serving to offer a glimmer of hope to teams already circling the drain this early in the season. Several Chelsea players were in action for their countries, despite some of them having already qualified for the World Cup. Let’s have a look at the events of the week gone by.
#1 Kante Crocked
It had to happen sometime. After enduring two non-stop, league-winning campaigns, it was France who finally managed to break N’Golo Kante. The FIFA Ballon d’Or nominee tore his hamstring and will be out for three weeks or more. It’s at times like these when you wonder if we’d have been better off holding on to Chalobah. Oh, well. Time for a Drink.
#2 Musonda Messes Up
Charly Musonda has never been one to shy away from social media. This week, he took to Instagram to vent his frustrations about the lack of opportunities at Chelsea through an emotional post accompanied by a black image. If he found his chances limited before, wait till Conte sends him a text message to inform him of his new status.
#3 Hazard Warming Up
Eden Hazard started for Belgium alongside his brother and former Chelsea player, Thorgan Hazard. Unfortunately, Kylian couldn’t join his siblings as he was busy training with the Chelsea first team, for a change. Both the Hazard brothers scored and another Chelsea old-boy, Romelu Lukaku, also shrugged off his injury doubts to get on the scoresheet. Thankfully, there were no fresh injury concerns after this dead rubber match.
#4 Aina Debut
Ola Aina had to wait for it, but he finally made his debut for Nigeria in the 1-0 win over Zambia. The youngster will now get a chance to play in the World Cup after Nigeria sealed their qualification for the tournament in Russia. He might be joined by fellow Chelsea prospect, Tammy Abraham, if the Super Eagles can convince him to play for the country of his father’s birth.
#5 Reshuffle Incoming
With Kante now injured, will Conte opt to push Luiz into midfield once again? Or is Drinkwater fit enough to finally make his debut for Chelsea? If Luiz is moved to midfield, who takes his place in defence? A lot of questions for Conte to ponder upon for the game against Crystal Palace.
As the Premier League weekend draws closer, Chelsea need to reorganise themselves and get back to winning ways after the City defeat. Also, let’s avoid being the first team to concede a goal to Palace, shall we?