Mauricio Pochettino is in no mood to ‘risk’ Chelsea star ahead of highly anticipated return

Mauricio Pochettino reveals he will tread with caution regarding Chelsea star Christopher Nkunku

Mauricio Pochettino says he intends to take safety measures with the Christopher Nkunku injury, which explains why the Frenchman did not feature in the match against Sheffield United.

The forward was on the matchday squad to face Sheffield, and despite the Blues being 2-0 up, it appeared the 25-year-old would finally make his Chelsea debut, but Nkunku remained on the bench for the entirety of the match.

The win gave Chelsea’s first back-to-back wins at home for the first time since October 2022, something the club should be proud of after a dismal period. Hopefully, this helps us build momentum heading into the festive period of matches.

Chelsea commanded the entire game, even if they didn’t score in the first half. However, they revised their strategy completely in the second half and scored twice to win the match, thanks to goals from Cole Palmer in the 54th minute and Nicolas Jackson seven minutes later.

Sheffield barely threatened and a win saw the Blues climb back to 10^th place and ease some pressure on Pochettino, who later revealed why Nkunku didn’t make his debut, (h/t Metro), He told the BBC:

‘We didn’t want to take a risk with him and give him more time for his recovery.’

Nkunku will have his moment in a blue shirt soon

While it makes sense that Pochettino wants to be patient and careful and give him his debut when the time is perfect, it would have been nice to give him a few minutes on the pitch.

We’ve seen what happens when we rush athletes, and they end up having more setbacks with injuries. Nkunku will undoubtedly experience his Chelsea moment but fans will have to wait a little longer. Having an infallible goal scorer once again leading the line will certainly be a step in the right direction.

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Considering that we have already lost two straight games, this victory will help us gain momentum. It’s important to remember that our victory over a low-block team that Chelsea finds difficult to beat makes a big message because, despite what we saw in the first half, it seemed like just another long day. However, the second half proved we created more dangerous chances and got our reward.