Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino comments on Enzo Fernandez, Mykhaylo Mudryk injuries

By Darren Plant, Senior Reporter | 28 October 2023

Pochettino comments on Fernandez, Mudryk injuries

Head coach Mauricio Pochettino suggests that Enzo Fernandez and Mykhaylo Mudryk may only miss one Premier League match with minor injuries.

Mauricio Pochettino has suggested that he does not have any major concerns over the injuries sustained by Enzo Fernandez and Mykhaylo Mudryk.

Ahead of Saturday's Premier League fixture with Brentford, both players had been in contention to start against the Bees at Stamford Bridge.

While Fernandez's place in the engine room was a near-certainty, Mudryk was battling against Raheem Sterling to occupy a role alongside Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson.

However, the pair were each surprise absentees from the squad when they were revealed on Saturday morning, leading to a new-look side under Pochettino.

Speaking prior to kickoff, Pochettino revealed that each of the players - two of Chelsea's most expensive in history - had suffered issues on Friday.

Chelsea's Mykhailo Mudryk celebrates scoring their second goal on October 21, 2023 © Reuters

As quoted by football.london, Pochettino said: "Enzo and Misha felt something in training yesterday, small muscle injuries for them both.

"We hoped they would be okay to be in the squad but they aren't quite ready. Neither of them are big issues but we didn't want to take risks.

In the case of Fernandez, it is the first time that he has missed a Premier League fixture since he was signed from Benfica in January.

Meanwhile, Mudryk had been hoping to build on scoring in two of his last three appearances for Chelsea, a total of five starts and four substitute outings being made in all competitions.

Although Chelsea play host to Blackburn Rovers in the EFL Cup on Wednesday evening, there is a nine-day gap between facing Brentford and squaring off against Tottenham Hotspur on November 6.