"We need to see the reaction and how he evolves" - Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino provides Christopher Nkunku fitness update
Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has provided an injury update on star forward Christopher Nkunku, who has been out injured since February.
The French forward has had a rough start to life in west London since securing a £52 million move from German club side RB Leipzig.
Nkunku has been hit with a couple of injury setbacks that have limited him to just 363 minutes of football action in 10 appearances across all competitions for Chelsea this season.
The 26-year-old forward last featured for Chelsea in the League Cup final defeat against Liverpool and has since been nursing a hamstring injury.
However, ahead of the Blues' FA Cup semi-final clash against Manchester City this weekend, head coach Pochettino has provided an update on the Frenchman.
The Argentine tactician said during the pre-match press conference that Nkunku has returned to partial training with the first team and is currently being assessed on a day-to-day basis.
As quoted by Fabrizio Romano, Pochettino said:
"We have to assess day-by-day."
He continued:
“In the last few days, Nkunku has the possibility to be involved in part of the training session. We need to see the reaction and how he evolves.”
Mauricio Pochettino speaks about Chelsea's preparedness for their FA Cup clash against Manchester City
The Blues' head coach has said that his team is in high spirits ahead of their FA Cup semi-final showdown against Manchester City at Wembley this weekend.
Both teams are expected to battle it out for a place in the final of the prestigious cup competition, where they will face either Manchester United or Coventry City.
Chelsea head into the game on the back of a resounding 6-0 home victory against Everton, while City were knocked out of the UEFA Champions League by Real Madrid.
Speaking ahead of the game, Pochettino said that he has been impressed with how his side has trained ahead of the semi-final showdown. He said, via the club's official website:
"I am happy in the way that we have trained this week and with the way we played against Everton. It was an amazing game."
He continued:
"We need to translate that tomorrow in a game that is going to be really difficult. It is the semi-final, but it’s like a final because it’s a game you need to win to go through. So we will need to have the energy and the capacity to fight."