Pochettino gives grim Christopher Nkunku and Levi Colwill update for Tottenham tie as Chelsea deal with 14-man injury list

Mauricio Pochettino says Chelsea duo Levi Colwill and Christopher Nkunku unlikely to play vs Tottenham Hotspur

Mauricio Pochettino has confirmed Chelsea duo Levi Colwill and Christopher Nkunku won’t participate in their clash against Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday evening, despite both players being in group training ahead of the game.

Nkunku was sidelined with a hamstring injury, while Colwill suffered a fractured toe, which further increased the Blues injury list as Pochettino dealt with a 14-strong injury list for Thursday’s latest London derby at Stamford Bridge.

The 52-year-old will give a chance to academy players against Spurs, as the Argentine is now limited with a few options on the bench. The Chelsea injury crisis has certainly hampered Pochettino’s plan to test his tactics this season on a fully functional squad.

The former Spurs manager did confirm that Nkunku and Colwill were present in full training but playing them against Tottenham could be risky. Speaking to the reporters ahead of the game, (h/t Standard Sport), he said:

“They were training. Today, normally, we prepare the game for tomorrow. We did some set-pieces, tactical work, and meetings. They are nearly there. They are on the line, but they don’t cross the line. We hope they will cross the line for West Ham on Sunday.’’

If they are not ready to play against Spurs, then it will be wise to not risk them, as we only have a few matches left to end this season, so let’s just avoid using them because it isn’t worth the risk to play them. Nkunku has barely played this season, scoring two goals; meanwhile, Colwill has participated regularly, but his toe injury has kept him out for a long time.

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Pochettino will hope to give academy players some chance, and they will have an opportunity to show that they are ready to play for the senior team next season, as Alfie Gilchrist showed us in this campaign. The Argentine barely have enough options, and Thiago Silva and Axel Disasi have also been ruled out of the match with an injury.