Chelsea fans have been left disappointed to hear that Benoit Badiashile has been ruled out for an extended period with a hamstring injury.
According to the Guardian, the France Under-21 international could be out for up to four months after damaging his groin, with Chelsea concerned that he may miss the start of the 2023/24 campaign.
Now – in footage recently posted by Chelsea – the moment Benoit Badiashile hurt his groin may actually have been captured on camera.
What’s the story?
Well, the Blues posted training footage from Cobham on the club’s YouTube channel recently.
In the video, there is one moment where Badiashile can be seen over stretching to try and get on the end of an overhit cross from what appears to be Cesar Azpilicueta.
After trying to make contact with the cross, the seven-second footage shows the £35m Chelsea man grimacing as he slowly attempts to get back onto his feet.
You can see the moment in question below just after the four-minute mark.
To hurt your groin, over stretching is arguably one of the most common ways to do it, so it certainly seems possible that this particular incident was the reason for Badiashile’s injury.
Now, the 22-year-old looks set to miss the entirety of pre-season under Mauricio Pochettino, in what is a major blow.
In our view, Badiashile will probably wish he never bothered stretching to reach that loose cross from Azpilicueta at Cobham – if that is the moment which caused his groin injury.
Injury comes at a terrible time for Badiashile & Chelsea
There is never a good time for any player to be injured, but Chelsea will rue the timing of Badiashile’s groin problem.
Having arrived from Monaco in January, this summer represented a chance for the towering centre-back to really get his feet under the table at Stamford Bridge and kick on over the summer.
It is never easy to arrive in a new country during the middle of the campaign, so this summer’s pre-season was set to be a significant period for Badiashile in terms of settling.
Now – however – the Frenchman will have to instead focus on recovering rather than developing his football, which is a real nuisance for Chelsea, Pochettino and Badiashile himself.
Hopefully, the Limoges-born wonderkid is back in action as soon as possible.