Chelsea’s Benoit Badiashile hasn’t played in nearly two months because of a hamstring injury, but reports claim that he’s edging closer to a comeback.
The Chelsea squad looks a little thin on the ground right now, particularly in the heart of defence.
Blues centre-back Benoit Badiashile, 23, hasn’t featured for them since beating Tottenham in the Premier League on 8 December. Similarly, Chelsea centre-half Wesley Fofana has been out since the start of December with a long-term hamstring problem.
Enzo Maresca’s side haven’t kept a clean sheet in any of their last seven Premier League games as their backline shows cracks.
Jason Cundy believes Chelsea should build the defence around central defender Levi Colwill, but even his form has dipped in recent matches.
Injury update on Chelsea defender Benoit Badiashile
According to Football.London, Chelsea’s Badiashile is closing in on making his return from a hamstring injury.
Apparently, the Frenchman has recently stepped up his recovery by doing some individual work on the training pitches at Cobham.
The report claims that the player’s recovery from injury is on track.
Chelsea supporters aren’t convinced by Badiashile as a player because he’s flattered to deceive at times in his Blues career. However, there’s no doubt he could have helped Maresca’s group during their challenging run of form over the winter period.
The left-footed defender hasn’t been a regular this season, but perhaps he may be able to ease some pressure off Colwill when he’s back fit and available.
| Competition | Appearances |
| Conference League | 4 |
| Premier League | 4 |
| Conference League | 2 |
| Carabao Cup | 2 |
| FA Cup | 0 |
What is Chelsea’s strongest defence right now?
In recent weeks, Maresca is making lots of changes to his back four in games. We’d suggest he sticks with the same combination for a few fixtures to try help find some consistency.
Reece James at right-back and Marc Cucurella at left-back stand out as the obvious best full-back pairing at Stamford Bridge.
In terms of the central defensive partnership, Colwill is partnered by either Tosin Adarabioyo and Trevoh Chalobah. It’s time for Maresca to put his neck on the line and choose his best pairing, though.
We like the experience of Tosin next to Colwill in the heart of defence, although it’s harsh on Chalobah to leave him out of the XI.
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