Injuries have been a problem for Chelsea all season. Levi Colwill suffered an ACL injury in pre-season and has not featured since. On the other hand, Cole Palmer has continued to deal with a persistent groin issue and looks like a shell of the player we saw in his first 18 months at Stamford Bridge. Reece James is out of action. Estevao recently returned from a spell on the sidelines. Trevoh Chalobah is sidelined right now. The list goes on.
In the long run, Chelsea might need to keep a close eye on the fitness situation. They need to evaluate whether there is some way to improve on that front in the long run.
It is not just the players currently at Chelsea dealing with injuries though. Some of them, currently out on loan, have found themselves on pretty much the same boat.
Aaron Anselmino is someone who came to Chelsea with a lot of expectations surrounding him. The centre-back, formerly of Boca Juniors, was seen as the next big thing in Argentine football. He had started to show his quality while on loan at Borussia Dortmund as well. That was cut short to send him to Strasbourg. But now, his season might be over, before he has made a single start for the French club.
Chelsea player suffers season-ending injury on loan at Strasbourg
According to L’Equipe, injured in a hamstring, Anselmino must undergo new tests to determine the severity of his injury. But the season of the Argentine seems to be over.
Anselmino’s season has been riddled with injury problems. This is the fourth one for him. And it might be the best idea to allow him to recover rather than try to get him back on the pitch for a few games.
In the long run, this is a worry for Chelsea. It looks like Anselmino is injury-prone. Of course, the club have dealt with quite a few such players lately and one has to question why these issues are not being picked up by the club before making moves for them.
What does the future hold for Anselmino?
There is no doubt that Anselmino is a talent. We saw flashes of his quality while he was on loan at Borussia Dortmund.
In fact, it had looked like Borussia Dortmund were interested in signing him on a permanent basis. But Chelsea ended up cutting short Anselmino’s loan spell there and brought him back in January, only to send him to Strasbourg for the rest of the season. Mamadou Sarr headed in the opposite direction.
Anselmino has only played 15 minutes of football for Strasbourg since then. And now, it looks like his season is over. It is hard to predict what the long-term future holds for him. Firstly, we need to understand the extent of his latest injury. Then, there has to be a plan to accelerate his development in the upcoming campaign, including coming up with a strategy to keep him fit. Perhaps put him in the same load management strategy as James.
