Chelsea have seemingly suffered a significant injury blow after Omari Kellyman failed to last a half on his comeback.
During the summer transfer window, Kellyman was signed from Aston Villa in a £19m deal, Ian Maatsen moving in the opposition direction in a separate transfer that helped both clubs with issues with the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability regulations.
Despite seemingly paying over the odds for a player who accumulated just 148 minutes of senior football across six appearances for Villa, the 19-year-old was in line for first-team minutes this campaign, either in the Conference League or out on loan at an EFL Club.
However, injury has ruined the England Under-19 international's first year at Stamford Bridge, an hamstring issue keeping him sidelined since August 23.
Almost seven months on from the last of his two appearances for the Under-21s, Kellyman had recovered to be handed a start in a Premier League 2 encounter against Norwich City on Friday afternoon.
Disaster for Kellyman
Kellyman would have been hoping to come through at least 45 minutes on the first step towards playing regularly for the second string during the closing months of the season.
Instead, the prospect went down clutching his hamstring on the half-hour mark and needed to be withdrawn looking visibly upset.
Omari Kellyman has been lively so far but he's just gone down with what looks like a hamstring injury. He spent almost all of the season out with a similar issue. (32)
— Chelsea Youth (@chelseayouth) March 14, 2025
Although Chelsea would go on to beat the young Canaries by a 3-1 scoreline, the disappointment over Kellyman's injury will be felt after the game.
At this point, it remains unclear how long Kellyman will require to recover, but he will not be expected to participate in any of the upcoming matches.
Darren Plant
