Chelsea put seven goals past bottom-placed League One side Port Vale in the FA Cup quarterfinals yesterday to book their place in the semi-finals. On any other glorious seasons of the past, this would have seen minimal celebrations in contrast to the major morale boost for the Blues that this result was.
After a run of four losses, the Blues are finally back to winning ways after the international break, which hopefully gave Liam Rosenior time to regroup and learn from previous mistakes. He needs to be a lot better if he is to guide Chelsea to a Champions League qualification spot by the end of the season.
The Blues looked to be completely in control of the game against Port Vale. Six different players found the back of the net against the League One side at Stamford Bridge. The remaining one was an own goal.
This victory also comes on the back of Rosenior banning Enzo Fernandez for yesterday’s game. He will also not play in the crucial tie against Manchester City that is to come. The decision saw some criticism from the fans. The Blues are already missing quite a few key players due to injury. Leaving the Argentine out against Pep Guardiola’s side could cost them dearly.
Chelsea player suffers another injury after being out since January
Jamie Gittens was also left out of the squad which faced Port Vale yesterday. The winger was expected to return to the side after he was seen training at Cobham during the international break. Unfortunately, he was absent after picking up another injury.
Rosenior provided a concerning update regarding the 21-year-old during the post-match conference. According to The Standard, he said:
“Unfortunately, Jamie, in training yesterday, picked up what looks like a hamstring injury again.”
When talking about the timeline of the injury, the manager said:
“I think it’s the third time it’s happened. We need to help him and we need to make sure he’s okay. I can’t give you a time frame on that at the moment.”
Gittens’ debut campaign has been filled with injuries
This incident sums up the story of the season for the Blues. Despite BlueCo being criticised for their recent decisions over the last couple of years in terms of player recruits and also their choice of managers, injuries have been a constant disruption for the club.
It is largely responsible for their ongoing problems. Two of their most pivotal players, Cole Palmer and Reece James, have struggled with their respective injuries. As a result, they have failed to perform at the highest level for their side.
Gittens was previously sidelined due to another hamstring injury, which kept him out of action for more than two months. He last appeared in late January. And if this time around it’s a similar issue, then he could well be out for the rest of the season.
Even if it is not as severe, he is likely to miss the crucial ties against both the Manchester clubs. All the fans can now do is pray that Gittens and others recover as quickly as possible and no other player gets injured in the meantime, as we enter the business end of the season. The Blues are fighting for the Champions League spots while competing against Manchester United, Liverpool and Aston Villa.
