Chelsea striker Armando Broja injured while on international duty with Albania
According to Football.London, Chelsea striker Armando Broja has picked up an injury while on international duty with Albania.
The 21-year-old started the international friendly against European champions Italy but had to come off in the 51st minute after suffering an injury to his left ankle. The Italians won the game 3-1.
Albania has another friendly against Armenia scheduled on Saturday, but it seems like Broja will miss that and come back to Chelsea to recover from this knock.
The striker will have some time off as he and his country are not part of the World Cup taking place in Qatar. Hence, he will get the required time to come back fit before the club season resumes in late December.
Earlier in the week, Albania boss Edy Reja insisted that Broja needs more game time if he is to improve his football and get better as a player. He also pointed out the part of his game the striker needs to work on (Evening Standard).
Out of the 14 league games played by Chelsea, the 21-year-old has started only two and played a total of 286 minutes. That cannot be classed as getting ‘regular game time’.
If we look at his performances on loan at Southampton last season, he was a handful for the Premier League defenders. Not just the goals, but his overall game was very good.
Broja was linked with a move to West Ham United in the summer, but he decided to stay at Stamford Bridge and subsequently signed a new six-year deal with the Blues.
In the last few weeks, he has again been linked with a move outside Chelsea, this time to Serie A champions AC Milan and Spanish giants Atletico Madrid.
If we keep his lack of game time at Chelsea in mind, it would be a sensible decision from the club’s viewpoint to let him go.
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For now, though, the player would be aiming to get back fit soon and attend the warm weather training camp with the Blues and get himself ready and available for the second half of this season.