"The situation is being exaggerated" - Medical expert says Chelsea's troubles aren't as bad as people are making it out to be
Chelsea's injury troubles are being overstated as the numbers around their issues are just above the Premier League average, according to Premier Injuries site owner and medical expert Ben Dinnery.
The Blues have often found themselves on the wrong end of injury problems since the start of last season. The Stamford Bridge side topped the injury count for the 2021-22 Premier League table with 97, according to Howden Group's European Football Injury Index.
Graham Potter's side have struggled with their fair share of injuries in the ongoing 2022-23 campaign too. The likes of N'Golo Kante, Reece James, Raheem Sterling, Ben Chilwell, Christian Pulisic, and Wesley Fofana are all currently ruled out of action with their respective issues.
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Speaking to Football Insider, Dinnery shared his thoughts on Chelsea's unfortunate injury crisis during the 2021-22 campaign. He elaborated:
"It needs to be considered that Chelsea played more matches than any other side last season. They were involved in Champions League football, the Super Cup and they also went deep in two domestic cup competitions during that period. So that's why, it's best to measure injury burden per 1000 minutes of competitive minutes played, because it gives a much better understanding."
Comparing the Blues' injuries to other clubs, Dinnery continued:
"During the 2021/22 season, Chelsea only actually had 50 time-loss injuries reported across the full season, not 90. No Premier League team had more, but their injury burden worked out at 8.7 injuries per 1000 minutes played. Watford was 13.6, Manchester United was 9.3, Norwich was 9.8 and Leeds was 11.5."
Deeming their situation to be exaggerated, Dinnery concluded:
"The numbers say they had the worst record, but Potter needs to be realistic and acknowledge that they're only just above the league average in terms of incident rates. The situation is being exaggerated and it's not as bad as people are making it out to be."
Chelsea had plans, injuries had other plans https://t.co/RqlHX5DDV3
England star's Chelsea future in doubt after Mykhailo Mudryk's arrival: Reports
According to Football Insider, Chelsea's top brass are willing to offload Raheem Sterling in January due to his below-par performances so far. Although the England international has a contract until June 2027, the Blues are aiming to sell the ex-Manchester City man to raise funds.
The Todd Boehly-led ownership is expected to continue their spending spree this month with a possibility of crossing ÂŁ250 million in fees.
During the ongoing winter transfer window, the Blues have added five new players to their squad. Apart from Joao Felix's loan deal, the club have also snapped up Mykhailo Mudryk, Benoit Badiashile, David Fofana, and Andrey Santos for a combined sum of over ÂŁ145 million.