Chelsea’s Benoit Badiashile suffers minor setback in recovery ahead of clash with Aston Villa
Chelsea defender Benoit Badiashile has suffered a minor setback in his recovery from the serious hamstring injury he picked up back in May.
Badiashile tweaked his hamstring late last week and is now training alone at Chelsea’s Cobham training complex according to football.london.
The 22-year-old French center-back was nearing his return to first-team training but this latest strain has disrupted his rehabilitation plan. Prior to this setback, Badiashile was expected to be in contention to face Aston Villa this weekend.
Badiashile has been sidelined since last season after sustaining the original hamstring problem in training. His absence further depletes a Chelsea squad already missing 12 players due to injury.
The lack of depth has contributed to Chelsea’s disappointing start under new manager Mauricio Pochettino. Some fans voiced displeasure after a goalless draw to Bournemouth left the Blues with just 5 points from 5 matches.
Pochettino defended his injury-ravaged squad after the match
“We don’t have all the squad available from the beginning of the season. What can we do? For me I have nothing to say. We have had bad luck. We had 12 injured (out) today, plus Noni [Madueke], [Marc] Cucurella and [Moises] Caicedo. Then we have three, four young guys and two keepers on the bench. Okay am I going to cry, am I going to complain? I need to accept this, the challenge and keep being positive.
The manager called for patience and positivity during this challenging stretch. Pochettino insisted he could not change the difficult circumstances but maintained faith in his available players.
Getting Badiashile back fit will provide a major boost once he fully recovers. Given Chelsea’s lack of defender depth owing to 5 of their first-team defenders’ injuries, any setbacks are magnified. But Pochettino aims to keep spirits up rather than make excuses amidst the club’s early struggles.
Chelsea are going through a period of substantial change right now, choosing to focus on developing young talents. But with more than half the team unavailable due to injury problems, Pochettino’s side faces a tough battle ahead, especially with centre-backs Trevoh Chalobah and Wesley Fofana also sidelined.
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For now, Badiashile will continue solo training as he manages this latest hamstring issue. Chelsea will exercise caution bringing the talented 22-year-old along slowly. Staying patient through setbacks will hopefully ensure Badiashile returns stronger once fully fit again.