Liam Rosenior names Chelsea duo he relies on amid Marc Cucurella's injury blow
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Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior refused to put a time frame on Marc Cucurella's potential return from his hamstring injury, but insisted he has two alternative options for the left-back position.
Cucurella sustained a hamstring injury and was forced off at half-time during Chelsea's 2-2 Premier League draw with Leeds United last week.
As a result, the Spain international was left out of the squad against Hull City in the FA Cup last Friday.
Rosenior confirmed that Cucurella is expected to be out for a while due to the injury, but characteristically did not give any potential return date.
"I can't give an exact timeframe on Marc," the Chelsea boss said in his press conference on Thursday.
"He suffered a hamstring injury before half-time in the Leeds game.
"For me, it's a real shame, because he's an outstanding player. He's one of the best left-backs in the world.
"We have Jorrel (Hato) and Malo (Gusto) who can play on that side. We've got really, really good players that can cover.
"The sooner he gets back, the better."
An earlier report, however, claimed Cucurella is expected to be out for three to four weeks, which means he could miss up to five more games.
Rosenior made it clear that he considers Hato and Gusto as the two back-up left-back options, despite the latter naturally being a right-back.
This is the perfect opportunity for Hato to impress after a relatively underwhelming start to his Chelsea career.
The 19-year-old has made 11 Premier League appearances for the club since his arrival last summer, but only three of which were as a starter.
It is worth mentioning Rosenior's recent strategy of using Enzo Fernandez as a second number 10 alongside Cole Palmer at the expense of a left winger.
The structure forces Chelsea's left-back to provide the width for the team on the left flank.
It will be interesting to see if Rosenior will continue with this plan amid Cucurella's absence.
Gerry Crisandy is a freelance writer who has covered Chelsea for many years. His work has been published on The Chelsea Chronicle and Pride of London. He grew up idolising Michael Ballack and is a firm believer in expected goals.