‘Maybe’: Mauricio Pochettino says 22-year-old Chelsea player could be on the bench vs Tottenham

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Chelsea’s Armando Broja could be back in the matchday squad for Monday’s trip to Tottenham.

That is according to Blues head coach Mauricio Pochettino.

Armando Broja, 22, has been absent from the last few games with a knee problem.

There’s a chance that the young striker could return from injury in time for the upcoming Premier League fixture away at Spurs, though.

Chelsea injury boost

Speaking in Friday afternoon’s pre-match press conference, Pochettino did provide an encouraging update on Broja still a few days out from the Spurs clash.

The 22-year-old frontman could possibly return to the bench.

Pochettino said via Chelsea’s official YouTube channel: “Maybe he will be available to be on the bench for Monday. He’s training today and in the last few days doing well. Hope he can be involved in the game, but still not confirmed [his involvement].”

Armando Broja in a good spot

Strangely, Broja’s small stint on the sidelines may have done him some good.

His absence has left the door wide open for teammate Nicolas Jackson to nail down the No 9 position, but he’s struggled in recent performances to put forward a compelling case for himself.

We’re now expecting Broja to get a couple of chances to try cement his spot in the XI as the main centre-forward position. Of course, he’ll need to get himself back fully fit before that happens.

Speaking via talkSPORT (11:24pm, 18 October), Jason Cundy described Broja as a “raw talent” with serious pace.

It feels like Pochettino is getting to grips now with his preferred midfield and defence, but the forward positions do feel up for grabs still.

We’d love to have the speed of Broja to exploit the high defence of Spurs on Monday, but he could yet be a super weapon off the bench in the final 20 minutes.