Albanian FA president Armand Duka says there is a possibility that Chelsea striker Armando Broja will be on the bench for the game against Bournemouth this weekend.
The 22-year-old has not played since sustaining an ACL injury back in December last year but Duka says the forward is nearing a return to full fitness:
“Broja has completed his recovery phase. Maybe this week he will be on the bench with Chelsea, ready to return to the field.”
Fans on X are delighted that Broja could be back in action very soon, with some hoping that he can provide competition for Nicolas Jackson up front:
Wonderful news
— Mudi (@CFCFan010) September 12, 2023
Let’s go 💙🤍💙🤍
— 𝗦𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐲 𝗦𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 (@successszn_) September 12, 2023
Huge boost ⚡⚡⚡
— 𝕲𝖇𝖊𝖓𝖌𝖆 ☮️🕊️✌️ (@OmoAluko11) September 12, 2023
Let’s hope so, Jackson needs some competition..
— TweetsWithWolves (@TweetWithWolves) September 12, 2023
Would be nice to see him come off the bench and have some sort of impact
— Blue Broski (@sw6broski) September 12, 2023
That’s a good news but we have to take his integration into the team a bit easy so he don’t pick up another injury… #CFC
— Joe Ugo (@joE765001) September 12, 2023
The Albanian international has been out of contention for the best part of 9 months so he will clearly be lacking match sharpness.
Manager Mauricio Pochettino has suggested that Broja will be eased back into things, although you would hope that he can feature prominently in the Carabao Cup against Brighton later this month.
While many supporters will hope that Broja will be given the chance to show what he can do between now and January, it appears the club’s recruitment department are already drawing up a list of names, with a view to adding another striker to the squad.
Brentford’s Ivan Toney, Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins and RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko are said to be the three main targets currently under consideration.