Chelsea defender Benoit Badishile could soon return to the team as he draws closer to fully recovering from his hamstring injury that has kept him out of action for almost three months, according to journalist Nizaar Kinsella.
Badiashile was ruled out of action with a hamstring injury back in May [via Chelsea official club website] – however, it seems he will be making his comeback sooner, rather than later.
Kinsella says that he could make his return as soon as September 27, when Chelsea will take on Brighton and Hove Albion in the third round of the League Cup.
On the London is Blue Podcast, Kinsella said: “Benoît Badiashile is close to returning. He may feature for Chelsea’s U-21s and could be targeting a return in the Carabao Cup game vs Brighton. Chelsea are very excited about Badiashile’s return.”
Will Benoit Badiashile be in the first team when he returns?
Chelsea have a litany of top-quality defenders in their squad, such as Axel Disasi, Thiago Silva and Levi Colwill, but this does not mean there is no room for improvement for them at the back.
The Blues have played four Premier League games so far this season, in which they conceded five goals. Moreover, they have only kept one clean sheet, which came during their 3-0 victory over Luton Town – the Hatters have scored just two goals in the league so far this season.
They have not looked entirely convincing defensively – therefore, it would not be a surprise to see Badiashile get a run of games as Mauricio Pochettino continues to figure out what his best starting XI is at Chelsea.
Which other Chelsea players are currently out with injuries?
Badiashile is far from the only Blues player who is currently off the field with an injury – their squad is heavily depleted at this point in time.
Currently, players such as Wesley Fofana, Marcus Bettinelli, Carney Chukwuemeka, Christopher Nkunku, Armando Broja, Trevoh Chalobah, Reece James, Mykhailo Mudryk and Romeo Lavia are all unavailable for selection.
Thankfully for Chelsea, due to Todd Boehly’s propensity for big spending, their squad is so vast that even an injury crisis such as this does not prevent them from fielding a squad full of quality talents.