Graham Potter revealed that Mateo Kovacic is still carrying the knee issue that impacted his start to the season. The midfielder was an early substitution against Manchester United when he replaced Marc Cucurella as the Blues looked to change shape.
It is the second time in as many matches that the Croatian star has been introduced in the opening half of football after Conor Gallagher needed to be replaced after 15 minutes against Brentford. The 28-year-old had a significant impact after entering the field with 36 minutes on the clock.
However, it appears Kovacic is still carrying the issue which saw him miss Chelsea's match against Tottenham in August before being carefully reintroduced to the side.
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Potter said in his press conference: "He’s been nursing his knee all season pretty much and you look at the schedule, it’s impossible for him to start all the games.
"We’ve planned for him to have less time but things have conspired against us"
The introduction of Kovacic allowed Chelsea to have a great deal more control as he joined Jorginho and Ruben Loftus-Cheek in midfield. The Blues moved to a back four as Trevoh Chalobah and Thiago Silva made up a defensive pair when Cucurella was sacrificed for the change of shape.
It is the second time Cucurella has been replaced when starting on the left side of defence, though on this occasion it did not seem to be because of his individual performance, as much as how the team was able to perform.
Potter explained: "Our sense in the game was that we were getting overrun and we needed an extra player in there to create more pressure and stop them building their attacks. It’s a feeling I had. It wasn’t an easy decision but the boys responded really well and gave everything."
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