After leaving Christopher Nkunku on the bench during the victory against Sheffield United (2-0) this Saturday, Chelsea coach Mauricio Pochettino revealed this Monday at a press conference that the Ile-de-France striker could finally make his debut this Tuesday in the League Cup quarter-finals against Newcastle.
While he made his comeback in the London group this weekend, for the first time this season, Christopher Nkunku was finally preserved against Sheffield United (victory for his team 2-0) this Saturday. Enough to frustrate Blues fans deprived of one of their biggest recruits this summer after a transfer of 60 million euros.
But, at a press conference this Monday, Chelsea coach Mauricio Pochettino revealed that the former Leipzig star scorer could finally make his big debut against Newcastle in the League Cup quarter-finals this Tuesday evening (9 p.m.) .
“Christopher (Nkunku) was in the squad for the last match and he will be again for the next one. Today he trained well, he might be able to play 20 minutes tomorrow. The priority is to feel good 100%,” declared the Argentinian technician before recalling that the Ile-de-France striker needed “time” to return to his best form.
Away from the field for more than 4 months
The top scorer in the Bundesliga last season (tied with Fullkrug, at the time at Werder, and his 16 goals) is returning from major knee surgery since an injury suffered in a friendly this summer against Dortmund in the middle of an American tour . Having reached the end of his rehabilitation program, the 26-year-old striker has not played since and hopes to get a few minutes against Newcastle.
“Here’s my concern: putting too much pressure on him and saying, ‘Oh, now that he’s here, he’s going to change everything and make us win every game.’ I don’t think it’s going to happen like that because he has need time to regain his feelings and adapt to a team which has played without him for the last four months”, Pochettino reminded at a press conference.
While his team is stuck in the soft underbelly of the ranking, with a 10th place and only 28 goals scored in total (9th best attack in the championship), Pochettino still insisted on the fact that the great scorer of RB Leipzig would not necessarily be positioned on the attacking front: “Nkunku can play n°9, or n°10, n°7, or even n°11. It’s a question of seeing how he can help the team, in what position and find a different animation so that he feels good and is decisive.” Before continuing: “But we have to be careful with Nkunku because he has not yet made his debut in the Premier League and you know how difficult this championship is for players from abroad.”
2023-12-18 16:18:53
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