Armando Broja shoots to score his first Chelsea goal in a game against Wolves in October 2022. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
According to The Athletic (subscription required), Chelsea striker Armando Broja was taken off on a stretcher during the friendly against Aston Villa in Abu Dhabi.
19 minutes into the game, the Albania international, who recently came back from an ankle knock he picked up on international duty, collided with Ezri Konsa while chasing the ball and went down. The injury is suspected to be on his knee, which is generally not good news for football players.
Broja looked to be in considerable pain as the medical staff attended to him. He was holding his right knee before getting stretchered off following a prolonged diagnosis on the field.
It is another concern for the Blues as they are already dealing with a hefty injury list. Trevoh Chalobah had to withdraw from this game before kick-off due to a suspected injury, while the likes of Reece James, N’Golo Kante, Ben Chilwell and Wesley Fofana are still in their recovery phase.
In terms of the forward line, Chelsea have struggled for goals from their number nines. A good outing here and an extended time on the training pitch could have helped Broja take his place in the team as a centre-forward. But, that now looks unlikely for the coming weeks and months.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Kai Havertz are probable options for that spot now when the season resumes. Both have not been in great form so far this season.
It would be interesting to see whether the club signs a new striker in January, or wait till the summer to make the right call. The waiting game might cost us a place in the top four.
To round it off, we hope Broja gets well soon and wish him the best for the upcoming recovery period. The rest of the season could be the time he gets to prove that he can be the solution to our personnel problems up front and convince the club that they don’t need to spend big to sign a new striker.
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