Mateo Kovacic and Kepa Arrizabalaga were among the Chelsea players who missed the open training session ahead of the Blues’ Champions League group stage match against Dinamo Zagreb.
The Stamford Bridge outfit have already qualified for the Champions League round-of-16 after 2-1 win over RB Salzburg in the last week. Chelsea are the group toppers with 10 points from five matches in Group E. They are three points clear of AC Milan, who sit second with seven points.
Chelsea will face Dinamo Zagreb in their final Champions League 22/23 group stage match. The Blues will be aiming to take revenge on the Croatian outfit after they inflicted a defeat on the Premier League side in their Champions League 22/23 opener.
The west London outfit slumped to a 1-0 defeat to Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League opener, with Mislav Orsic’s goal in the 13th minute of the game separating the two sides.
Chelsea handed injury blow ahead of Dinamo Zagreb clash
The Blues have been handed an injury blow ahead of their group stage match against Dinamo Zagreb.
According to Evening Standard, Kovacic and Kepa are expected to miss their match against the Croatian side.
Kepa had sustained an injury during Chelsea’s previous fixture in the Premier League. The Spaniard had started for Chelsea against Brighton on Saturday. But he was replaced at half-time after picking up a foot injury.
Evening Standard report that Kovacic ‘is managing an ongoing knee issue’. Koulibaly, who has missed Chelsea’s last three games, also missed the open training session and is also expected to be unavailable against Dinamo Zagreb.
Chelsea come into the game on the back of their 4-1 humbling at the hands of Brighton & Hove Albion. The Blues conceded three goals in a disastrous first-half for them. That included two own-goals, conceded by Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Trevoh Chalobah.
Chelsea pulled one back through Kai Havertz at the start of the second-half, but they failed to find another to mount further pressure on Brighton. The Seagulls then sealed their win in the injury time with a fourth goal in the 90+2nd minute.
Meanwhile, Chelsea’s next fixture in the Premier League is against table toppers Arsenal. The Blues, who have 21 points from 12 matches, are 10 points short of Arsenal. The north London outfit have 31 points from 12 matches.
The match between Chelsea and Arsenal kicks-off at 5:30 pm Indian Standard Time, on Sunday.
