Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was unable to travel to the Etihad Stadium for the FA Cup third round defeat to Manchester City due to a back issue, Graham Potter revealed following the game. The Chelsea boss noted the former Arsenal striker had a 'tight back' on Saturday.
The forward was present off the bench in the Premier League clash against Pep Guardiola's side after he replaced Raheem Sterling, but looked disgruntled when substituted after an hour on the pitch at Stamford Bridge. Sterling remains out with a hamstring issue suffered in the fixture.
Christian Pulisic, also injured in the Premier League clash against Manchester City, looks set to be out for weeks, however. The American international damaged his knee in Chelsea's home clash before being replaced by Carney Chukwuemeka.
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Potter explained: "Christian just opened up his knee in the game the other day. So, we're still analysing it. It's going to be weeks for him. Raheem just had an action, first minute of the game, a backheel that was a little bit strange and he felt something in his hamstring. So again, we're analysing that. Aubameyang has had a tight back yesterday, so was unable to travel."
The Blues fell 4-0 to Pep Guardiola's side having made six changes the team that was defeated 1-0 in the Premier League. Potter's hand was forced by the above injuries but he also rotated Marc Cucurella, Cesar Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva and Denis Zakaria out of the side as Lewis Hall, Bashir Humphreys, Trevoh Chalobah, Conor Gallagher, Jorginho and Mason Mount came into the team.
It was a difficult outing for the Blues, though the defensive introductions were among the team's better performers as Man City relentlessly pressed the visitors. Chelsea's away supporters made their feelings clear throughout the occasion, but Potter is confident they will be on his side when the team turns around it's performances.
He said: "Well, it's always challenging in the Premier League and it's always challenging here. I understand their frustration and I understand when you look at the result and the team performance today, it's some far away from Manchester City. That's clear. We have to focus on the next day and the next match. We play on Thursday, it's an important game for us. We need to stay together as group, we need to support each other and I'm sure we'll get the support of the supporters when they see good performances and good results."
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