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Football London
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Danyal Khan

Edouard Mendy sends four word Chelsea message to Kepa Arrizabalaga ahead of Al Hilal semi-final

Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy has sent a four word message to Kepa Arrizabalaga amid a big selection dilemma for Club World Cup semi-final against Al Hilal.

Mendy, 29, has just come off the back of a historic Africa Cup of Nations win with Senegal as he joined up with the rest of the Blues squad at their hotel in the morning, with the players giving him a hero's welcome.

Therefore, it would seem highly unlikely that the Senegalese would start this upcoming semi-final against the Saudi Arabian Champions due to jet lag and changes in time zone.

But looking ahead to the potential final or third placed play off and Zsolt Low and co have a real dilemma - does Mendy get his spot straight back or - as demonstrated by his Plymouth heroics - does Kepa keep him out for the whole tournament because of his recent form?

A topic of conversation that was ignited in Low's press conference when he was asked to address the goalkeeping conundrum the coaching team have to contend with in this scenario.

"Mendy will arrive probably later today or tomorrow and we'll see how tired he is. He has to arrive first, we have to check him and talk to him. We'll see if it's possible he plays, maybe," Low hinted in his pre-match press conference on Tuesday.

"It’s a good situation for coaches. We have two amazing goalkeepers, we have to decide all the time between two very good goalkeepers.

"Mendy made a fantastic performance to win the Africa Cup and be the best goalkeeper and Kepa does an amazing job with us here. In the last game he saved an important penalty and is in very good shape.

"We'll have talks with the goalkeeping coaches before making a decision."

He then went to add on what the former Rennes man has been doing since the famous win for Senegal: "For Mendy it was very important for him and all African players to win the Africa Cup. He's very happy to do an amazing performance and also very important for him to celebrate with his team-mates and his country."

Ahead of team news being released at 3:30pm, Chelsea's number 16 has taken to social media to send his teammates including Kepa, a message of gratitude for how they welcomed him back with open arms.

Edouard Mendy message to Kepa Arrizabalaga ahead of Club World Cup (@edou_mendy)

On his Instagram account @edou_mendy, he updated his story with a picture of himself reunited with the squad.

He captioned it: 'Good to be back [followed by a Blue heart emoji].'

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