Graham Potter's international break worst-case scenario is starting to become a reality with a number of Chelsea stars a doubt for their Premier League return. The Blues are back in action on April 1 when they take on Aston Villa and the Chelsea boss could be facing another injury crisis with at least 10 players possible doubts for the clash at Stamford Bridge.
After the early weeks of 2023 were riddled with injuries for Chelsea players, Potter finally got his squad almost back at full strength towards the start of February, with Reece James and Ben Chilwell among those returning. However, the end of that month and March have been far less kind.
Mason Mount and Raheem Sterling have both suffered with niggling injuries that saw them omitted from Gareth Southgate's England squad. Sterling was left out having not played for Chelsea since the 2-0 win over Borussia Dortmund. "Raheem has a problem with his hamstring. It's not too serious but he'll miss the game at the weekend and the international trip," Potter explained.
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Southgate also explained the decision to leave him out, adding: "Raheem is not fit, so that's that one." Mount has not featured for Chelsea since the defeat to Tottenham as he continues to struggle with a lower abdomen issue, although he was named in the England squad with that decision catching out Potter who gave some extra detail on his injury and initial inclusion.
"He's never been available as far as I am aware. He needed a bit of time for his injury to settle down which has pretty much ruled him out of England. Whether that meant they needed a bit of time to double-check that, I don't know.
"I don’t think there is anything untoward at all. It's more that sometimes with these things he can be named and yet there's still a couple of days where things can be changed. But from my selection perspective he wasn't available for the weekend."
Potter is also facing other fresh injury concerns with another recently returned player in Wesley Fofana having to pull out of the France squad. "Wes Fofana had to come off with fatigue, as he has had a long time out. He was feeling his hamstring. Wes was fantastic and defended well," Potter said after the 2-2 draw.
The injury is not deemed serious, however, and there is hope that he will be available on the first of next month. Thiago Silva and Cesar Azpilicueta are two other defenders struggling with injuries with the experienced duo absent because of knee and head injuries, respectively, with the latter also suffering a knock in training.
Positives are present for Potter though, as in last weekend's draw against Everton two things occurred for Chelsea that have not happened in a long time. N'Golo Kante was back in a matchday squad for the first time since August 14, 2022, while Christian Pulisic made his first Chelsea outing from the start in two-and-a-half months.
There are some new concerns for Potter involving James and Kai Havertz who have both returned to the club after withdrawing from their national team camps. James completed ten minutes for England against Italy, but on Saturday afternoon it was confirmed he had departed the squad due to an ongoing hamstring problem.
In regard to Havertz, Germany released a fitness update ahead of their clash with Belgium that revealed the Chelsea star had been suffering from illness and would return to England. The duo will join Edouard Mendy, who hasn't yet fully gotten over his fractured finger, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Armando Broja.
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