Chelsea ‘Learn Extent’ of Crushing Midfield Injury Blow

The Blues were braced for bad news during the January transfer window.

Bad news for Chelsea. | Vince Mignott/MB Media/Getty Images

Chelsea expect to be without midfielder Dário Essugo until March at the very earliest after his injury setback, a report has revealed.

Essugo went down with a thigh injury back in September but was close to a return earlier this year when he spent two games as an unused substitute, but an unfortunate setback during training has sent Essugo back to the sidelines.

According to The Athletic, he will not have the chance to make his first appearance of the season until March at the earliest.

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How Chelsea Can Cope Without Essugo

Dário Essugo has not played since pre-season. | Visionhaus/Getty Images

While the loss of a young midfielder not currently seen as a regular starter may not sound like a significant blow on paper, Essugo’s ongoing absence continues to pose major problems for Chelsea and manager Liam Rosenior.

Signed from Sporting CP for £18.5 million ($25.3 million) during the summer, Essugo was supposed to provide much-needed cover for Moisés Caicedo. The Ecuadorian has been forced to play for lengthy periods without any form of rest this season.

In isolation, losing Essugo has not been catastrophic, but he has not been the only Chelsea midfielder battling long-term injury. Roméo Lavia has not played since November, having seen injuries restrict him to just 30 appearances since he arrived in the summer of 2023.

Without either Essugo or Lavia, Chelsea’s midfield unit has been left with just three natural players. Enzo Fernández has played more minutes than any other player in the squad this season, with Caicedo fourth on that list behind only Robert Sánchez and Trevoh Chalobah.

Andrey Santos, meanwhile, has been forced to operate as cover for both players, while right back Reece James has been deployed in midfield to help make up the numbers at times.

Chelsea took a risk during the January transfer window when they opted to pull out of talks over Juventus midfielder Douglas Luiz, instead backing Lavia to return soon and the rest of the squad to continue coping without Essugo. Putting all their faith in the injury-hit Belgian may well prove to have a deciding impact on the course of the season.

They may not have made a move in January, but Chelsea are still expected to sign a new midfielder at the end of the season.

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What Other Areas of the Squad Will Chelsea Look to Improve?

Chelsea are expected to be active in the summer. | Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images

Despite having spent significant funds on nearly every position in the squad, Chelsea’s decision-makers still want more signings after recognising the team remains some way away from being genuinely competitive at the highest level—one of many factors behind recent fan unrest.

On the agenda for Chelsea in the summer transfer window is a new centre back, midfielder and versatile attacker.

18-year-old winger Geovany Quenda, Essugo’s former Sporting teammate, is due to complete a pre-arranged move worth around £44 million in July, but Chelsea are still expected to try and find another new signing to bolster Liam Rosenior’s forward line.

Reinforcing will almost certainly lead to departures throughout the team. Chelsea’s current squad already includes six centre backs—seven if you include young Josh Acheampong—while there are five wingers and three strikers also fighting for minutes.

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