"Had a kick on his ankle" - Graham Potter issues update on Chelsea player after substitution against Borussia Dortmund
Chelsea manager Graham Potter has provided an update on left-back Ben Chilwell following his side's clash against Borussia Dortmund.
The Blues traveled to Signal Iduna Park for the first leg of their UEFA Champions League Round of 16 tie on Wednesday (February 15). Chilwell started the contest on the left flank of a back four but was replaced in the 70th minute by Marc Cucurella. Chilwell seemed to be limping before taking his place on the bench.
Potter revealed after the game that the Englishman took a knock to his ankle, forcing him to be substituted. The Chelsea boss said (as quoted by football.london):
“About five minutes before he came off, he had a run down the side and had a kick on his ankle. I haven’t checked it over, but I think it’s more a kick than anything else and probably a little bit of fatigue.”
The game against Dortmund was notably Chilwell's first start since November 2022. He has suffered an injury-ridden campaign, with a hamstring problem restricting him to just 17 appearances across competitions for the Blues this season.
Potter added that he didn't plan to leave the left-back on till full-time owing to his lack of game time:
“That was his first start for some time, so the idea before the game was to take him off at 60/70 minutes max. So that was the plan.”
Hopefully nothing to worry about 🤞
#cfc
football.london/chelsea-fc/che…
Before being substituted, Chilwell enjoyed a decent outing for Chelsea on Wednesday.
He recorded three key passes, only behind Kai Havertz (four), for the Blues. The Englishman also recorded two clearances, a tackle and four successful duels and won three fouls and created one big chance.
Chelsea's winless run continues as Borussia Dortmund take slender lead in Champions League clash
Chelsea failed to win for the fourth game in succession on Wednesday, falling to a 1-0 defeat at Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League. The result followed a run of three straight draws for the Blues in the Premier League.
Graham Potter's men hit the woodwork with the only chance they created in the first half, with Dortmund failing to hit the target with their 11 attempts. The visitors were much better in the second half, recording 16 shots and eight on target, but were denied repeatedly by BvB custodian Gregor Kobel.
That allowed the German outfit to sneak a 1-0 first-leg win through Karim Adeyemi's fabulous solo goal in the 63rd minute.
Karim Adeyemi dribbled right past Enzo Fernández, went around Kepa, and gave Dortmund the lead against Chelsea.
What a talent ✨ https://t.co/uVk58elpmI
Chelsea will hope to overturn the slender deficit when the two teams meet at Stamford Bridge for the return leg on March 7.