Injury issues continue to mount as Chelsea will be without 10 players against Middlesbrough

Malo Gusto is now a fresh addition to the Chelsea injury list for the Middlesbrough tie

According to Gazette Live, Chelsea are set to be without plenty of their first-team players in their Carabao Cup second-leg encounter versus Middlesbrough later today.

The Blues are set to miss the likes of Marc Cucurella, Robert Sanchez, Reece James, Wesley Fofana, Lesley Ugochukwu, Romeo Lavia, and Trevoh Chalobah, who recently returned from injury but won’t feature on the night.

More injuries have been reported as right-back Malo Gusto and forward Christopher Nkunku have been sidelined for the Carabao Cup match. This leaves Chelsea with no senior right-back options, given that Reece James is already injured and is now joined by the former Olympique Lyonnais player.

It was inevitable that Gusto would get another injury, following his lack of proper recovery from his prior ailments. He was utilised frequently and was given no rest which has resulted in his body suffering fatigue.

These are nine players ruled out for the West Londoners on the night, while Cesare Casadei will be the tenth player who won’t feature after he was recently called by Chelsea from Leicester City. His being cup-tied puts Mauricio Pochettino in a tight spot.

The only issue the Argentine manager will have is that he doesn’t have a right-back, and Axel Disasi remains the only choice, who hasn’t looked comfortable operating from there.

Wrong squad selection could be a massive blunder if the players don’t connect. However, the return of Ben Chilwell is positive news, and should encourage a side seeing to overturn a first-leg deficit and progress to Wembley.

We have never had a fully operational squad for a game, which is quite frustrating for us since it limits our options. As a result, the club has had to call back players who were on loan because we are currently dealing with many injuries. Casadei, however, is of little use today, the one night we need him as we aim for the first trophy in the Todd Boehly era.

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Gusto has been solid for us, and his right-back position brings creativity, attacking and defensive firepower to the team. His absence will be lamented greatly. It will be intriguing to watch who Pochettino chooses to fulfil the role in the coming weeks.