Antonio Conte will need to restructure his side in their next Premier League game after losing several of his players to suspension or injury.
The game against Burnley on opening day did not go exactly according to plan with Cesc Fabregas receiving a red card as well as club captain Gary Cahill.
Injuries have not been kind to Chelsea as well, with Eden Hazard a long term absentee, together with newcomer Tiemoue Bakayoko.
Chelsea signed Bakayoko to replace Nemanja Matic but the Frenchman has yet to kick a ball at Stamford Bridge following a surgery in his knee.
With Matic gone and Nathaniel Chalobah leaving with the discontent of not being a regular and not having the sense of belonging at Chelsea, the mantle was always going to be on N’Golo Kante and Fabregas.
However, Fabregas is suspended now and Conte needs cover in midfield but Bakayoko cannot be counted on.
David Luiz or Charley Musonda are the only first team players capable of filling the central midfield role although the Italian tactician may have something up his sleeve.
So the question for Chelsea fans currently is, when is Bakayoko returning to first team action?
https://twitter.com/ChelsFanTweets/status/897123528734101505
Above is a couple of pictures Bakayoko’s senior brother uploaded on snap chat, showing Bakayoko back in training with Baba Rahman and Eden Hazard. If the pictures are true, it will not take long for the former AS Monaco man to feature for the Blues.
History with players to have gone under the knife around the knee proves it takes maximum three weeks after physio and when they step unto the pitch for light training, for them to be fully ready and feature in a competitive game.
This means Bakayoko is certain to play in Chelsea’s Premier League game against Leicester and might be on the bench against Everton at Stamford Bridge.
This pretty much rules him out of the running to make an appearance in the month of August as Chelsea take on Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley and Everton at home.
Chelsea next fixtures:
Tottenham
Everton
Leicester
ArsenalA prayer?
— Thierry Nyann 🇬🇭 (@nyannthierry) August 12, 2017
In the meantime, Chelsea are hoping to complete a deal to bring in a central midfielder, with Arsenal’s Alex Oxlade Chamberlain mentioned alongside Leicester City midfielder Danny Drinkwater.
