Chelsea forward Olivier Giroud had to be substituted in the second half against Crystal Palace with an ankle injury leaving manager Maurizio Sarri to bemoan the number of injured players.
Following the 1-0 win over the Eagles, the Blues boss says he could be without up to six first-team players:
“Yesterday in 10 minutes we had three injuries – [Cesc] Fabregas, [Ruben] Loftus-Cheek and [Danny] Drinkwater – then Giroud today, and we were already without Pedro and [Callum] Hudson-Odoi. We are in trouble because, in January, we have to play every three days.”
Fans on Twitter are calling on the club to help Sarri out in the January transfer window:
Too many injuries. Get some new guys in January!
— Karli Kelk (@KarliKelk79) 30 December 2018
We need to bring in a good striker come January, without a good striker like icardi we will still Struggle the same
— Vincent Eric (@VincentEric14) 30 December 2018
A striker and a defensive mid + Pulisic in January then?
— ??SHEGZ BABA?? (@shegz) 30 December 2018
We need to go all out in January but a lot of players 11 as we are banned for the next 2…
— TotallyHazardous (@TotallyHazardo1) 30 December 2018
Moves to be made in January then
— johnny (@joohnnnnyyyy_) 30 December 2018
go and us Douglas costa from juventus pls
— Zindiwet (@zindiwet) 30 December 2018
Who da thunk that 2 strikers would be enough for a season…. ?
— steve b (@cfcMode) 30 December 2018
Might actually force our hand to buy a forward.
— Ivan Henn (@IvanHnn) 30 December 2018
Sign a striker in January!!!
— Danyal Khan ?️?⚽️ (@DKMatchreports) 30 December 2018
Chelsea’s lack of options in the forward line is probably the most concerning factor. Although Pedro and Callum Hudson-Odoi are not believed to be long-term absentees with hamstring injuries, it means that Eden Hazard and Willian could suffer burnout with the number of matches they are having to play.
On top of that, with Giroud sidelined, it leaves Alvaro Morata as the only fit central striker. The Spaniard has not scored in the Premier League since early November and has only recently recovered from his own knee injury.
