If Chelsea fail to qualify for the Champions League, injuries and Nicolas Jackson will be partly to blame.
Enzo Maresca has had to cope without some big players throughout the campaign, including the likes of Wesley Fofana and Romeo Lavia, and has just lost his first-choice striker to suspension at a crucial point of the campaign.
While Lavia is back, Fofana is currently sidelined, which is a huge blow for his manager. According to Matt Law of The Telegraph, Fofana is actually one of Maresca’s favourite players.
They are not the only ones who have picked up bad injuries at Chelsea this season, though.
Chelsea not underestimating impact of Marc Guiu’s injury
Summer signing Marc Guiu is also on the sidelines after damaging his hamstring back in February.
The striker has made a big impact in the Conference League this season, scoring six goals in as many appearances, and Chelsea think his injury has affected their campaign very negatively.
Journalist Liam Twomey discussed Guiu on Straight Outta Cobham and said: “You talk to people at Chelsea, they make a lot of him getting injured in the same game as Jackson, just after the closure of the January window.
“You cannot tell me that in the two months that Jackson was out Marc Guiu would have been enough in Premier League games. Maresca has not trusted him in Premier League games; he barely played any senior football for Barcelona. There was no case for him to be ready for a role that substantial.”
Regardless of how highly Chelsea rate Guiu, the Blues are likely to sign a new centre-forward this summer.
Chelsea are eyeing Liam Delap and Benjamin Sesko, for example, but so are many others, so landing either will not be a straightforward task.
When Marc Guiu could return from injury
The good news for Chelsea is that Guiu may get to play another game before the season ends, and he could come in handy with Jackson now banned.
Maresca claimed that the Spain youth international was close to returning for the 1-0 win against Djurgarden in the Conference League last week.
When Maresca spoke about Guiu in his pre-match press conference, he said: “We don’t have any injuries. Marc Guiu, he could be involved in tomorrow’s squad. Not sure yet, probably for him it’s better to have some more days in terms of training sessions. But he’s very close.”
If Guiu remains unavailable, Maresca can always use Tyrique George up front, as he did in victories over Djurgarden and Fulham. The Chelsea academy product even managed to score against the club’s west London rivals.
