Chelsea suffer injury blow as star player out for a month

It was a good day for Graham Potter today – Chelsea managed a win. But even amongst the joy of 3 hard earned points at home there were negatives.

The big blow in midweek was Joao Felix’s red card, which cost Chelsea dearly. But just before that we had seen Denis Zakaria limp off, and as it turns out that might be just as much of a blow.

Potter told the media today that Zakaria would be out for four weeks – the same length of time as Felix. To make things worse, Zakaria is a much more unique player in this squad. We will likely see a lot more of Conor Gallagher, as we did today, in the weeks to come.

Zakaria is out for four weeks, Potter confirms.

— Nizaar Kinsella (@NizaarKinsella) January 15, 2023

Zakaria went from nowhere to being a key player for us – and we already feel like we’re going to suffer without him.

It’s a big chance for Gallagher however, as he can improve his game in a more controlled and defensive role rather than roaming forward as he prefers.