Chelsea’s Trevoh Chalobah Sidelined by Injury as Maresca Cautious of Southampton Upset

Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah (25) is set to be sidelined for at least a week following an injury sustained during the Premier League match against Aston Villa, which ended in a 2-1 defeat for the Blues, manager Enzo Maresca confirmed on Monday.

Chalobah’s injury further compounds Chelsea’s existing woes, as they are already grappling with a lengthy injury list that includes Nicolas Jackson, Noni Madueke, Romeo Lavia, and Wesley Fofana, all of whom missed the trip to Villa Park on Saturday.

“He underwent a scan yesterday and we anticipate he will be unavailable for about a week to ten days,” Maresca commented, looking ahead to Tuesday’s home fixture against Southampton.

“On one hand, it’s fortunate that it isn’t a severe injury, but on the other hand, it’s disappointing because we are losing another player at a critical time given our current injury situation.”

In the match against Villa, a blunder by goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen allowed the opposition to net a late second goal, marking Chelsea’s third consecutive defeat across all competitions. Despite this setback, Maresca has expressed his continued confidence in Jorgensen as his first-choice goalkeeper.

“He’s feeling a bit down and acknowledges the error he made, but overall he’s handling it okay,” the manager elaborated.

Maresca noted that Chelsea, currently just a point shy of fourth-placed Manchester City, faces a challenging prospect against Southampton, despite their position at the bottom of the league.

“I’m wary of matches like this; they can often be deceptive. Just look at their game against Manchester United, where they led 1-0 until the final minutes,” he remarked.

“It’s going to be a difficult match, and moving forward, every game will be tough as every team has something to play for.”

The former Leicester City boss acknowledged that while Chelsea has shown signs of improvement, they desperately need to secure positive results to gain some momentum.

“At Chelsea, I don’t believe there are matches where you don’t aim to win. Our responsibility is to prepare for every game with the intention to emerge victorious. We now have 12 matches left, and undoubtedly, every one of them is a must-win for us,” he stated.

“I genuinely believe that winning just one match can help us regain some much-needed momentum. That’s what I feel the players require at this moment.”