Report: Blow as Chelsea striker leaves training with protective boot

Armando Broja pictured leaving Chelsea training with a protective boot on

In what could be a blow to Chelsea, striker Armando Broja has been pictured leaving training with a protective boot on. The striker had joined the Blues camp in Los Angeles two days ago with new signing Raheem Sterling.

In a picture uploaded on Twitter by Chelsea Loan Army (h/t football.london), Broja can be seen wearing a protective boot on his left leg while sitting in a golf cart. According to journalist Simon Johnson via Twitter, the striker is okay and that it’s just a precaution.

Broja has been linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge, following his breakthrough season on loan at Southampton, last campaign. The 20-year-old Albanian scored nine goals in all competitions for the Saints and emerged as one of the best young strikers in the Premier League.

The striker is said to be wanting to be guaranteed to play time next season for Chelsea, while Thomas Tuchel wants to assess the player first during pre-season. His leaving with a cast on will be of concern not only to Chelsea but also to West Ham United and Newcastle United who are said to be interested in the player.

Although nothing has been announced officially regarding this, one will hope that it is something which is not serious. If it is anything serious, Broja could miss out on his chance to impress Tuchel during the pre-season and all his hopes to break into the team would be shattered.

Tuchel meanwhile will hope that he can see the player perform as he would like to assess his options ahead of next season. Given Timo Werner’s inconsistent form in front of the goal, Broja could have been the second striker option for Tuchel going into the 2022/23 season. But the severity of the injury could force a rethink.

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Tuchel will be doing a press conference in Las Vegas on Friday evening(local time) and one could expect some news then on the striker’s injury. Till then, we can hope that it is not something serious as it would be devastating to lose such a quality player before the new season even starts.