Chelsea have sacked manager Liam Rosenior after a spell of less than four months at the club. Most will view this as the right decision, as the club reached new lows under the Englishman over the past few weeks. Their 1-0 loss against Brighton was the Blues’ fifth straight defeat in the Premier League without scoring a goal, something that last happened back in 1912.
Now, with the FA Cup being their only hope to bring home a piece of silverware at the end of this campaign, it was only sensible for the board to shake things up and make a managerial change, for the second time this season.
Calum McFarlane will take interim charge of the team until the end of the season. It remains to be seen if he can inspire some good performances out of them.
In the long run, Chelsea have a lot to be worried about. One of them is the injury status of Estevao, if reports coming out of Brazil are accurate.
Chelsea’s injury problems this season
There is no denying the fact that both Enzo Maresca and Rosenior failed to deliver acceptable results. But the Blues’ injury problems gave the managers little to work with during the demanding periods of this season.
Now, as it stands, another of the Blues’ top performers this season, Estevao, has sustained a hamstring injury during the loss against Manchester United. The summer arrival was forced off the field in the first half itself. He had returned from another spell on the sidelines not too long ago.
Estevao is expected to return at some point next month. But is that going to be the right step for his long-term future?
Estevao injury might be worse than believed
With the World Cup now less than two months away, the Brazilian winger, who turned 19 today, is seemingly acting his age. According to journalist Cahe Mota, Estevao is talking to convince Chelsea to release him to receive treatment in Brazil under CBF supervision for the dream of the World Cup. The club initially wanted to operate on the posterior thigh muscle.
According to Rosenior’s press conference following the game against Manchester United, Estevao failed to hold back his tears inside the dressing room at half-time. It is hard not to guess that that might have been out of fear that he could miss the World Cup.
Every player dreams of representing their country at the World Cup. But at the same time, it is important to think about the big picture. Estevao is someone who could play three or four more World Cups. But if he ends up aggravating his injury, it could derail his entire career. If there is any risk of that, he should not be at the summer tournament.
