Chelsea Dealt Major Injury Setback After Key Player Is Sent Home From International Duty

Chelsea Dealt Major Injury Setback After Key Player Is Sent Home From International Duty

Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy has sustained a thigh injury whilst on international duty with Senegal. The 28-year-old picked up the problem in a training session on Wednesday and it was judged to be bad enough for him to return to England.

He will not take any part in the friendlies against Morocco and Mauritania, and he will be assessed by the Blues’ medical staff at Cobham to determine how long he will be sidelined for.

Chelsea’s next game is against Southampton in eight days time so Mendy does face a race against time to be fit. Manager Frank Lampard may have to turn back to error-prone keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga if the club’s new number one loses his fitness battle.

Kepa did start for Spain in their 0-0 draw against Portugal last night, but his poor form means it will likely be a toss-up between him and Willy Caballero as to who starts versus the Saints if Mendy is unavailable.

David Tully

David Tully

David has worked as a football reporter for the last fifteen years. Having started as an intern at Snack Media, he then went on to become a freelancer, working on various different sites. At the start of 2023, he took up his current role as content writer for National World's Football News Network.