The meeting between Chelsea and Newcastle United on Saturday afternoon is sure to be a very exciting one.
This matchup between two incredibly talented teams is sure to be plenty of goals, based on Chelsea’s last two Premier League games.
But 21 players—yes, twenty-one—may be left out of this weekend’s Premier League match at St. James’ Park.
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Of those, 13 are from Newcastle, and Chelsea has eight players who are questionable before the match.
Thirteen players for the Tyneside hosts are sidelined with injuries. Due to a shoulder injury, Dan Burn will not be able to return to action until 2023, while Jacob Murphy will not be able to play until the following year.
Due to a hamstring injury, Callum Wilson is anticipated to be out until next month. Additionally, Elliot Anderson (lower back), Matt Targett (thigh), Javier Manquillo (groyne), and Sven Botman (knee) are expected to miss this weekend’s game.
Harvey Barnes is anticipated to be out once more due to a foot issue. We are still awaiting Howe’s final evaluation, but players like Miguel Almiron, Fabian Schar, and Alexander Isak are possible candidates to return.
Lewis Hall won’t be able to participate either. Hall, 19, will not be able to play for his parent club because he signed a loan agreement with Newcastle in the summer, with the option to make the move permanent.
Sandro Tonali is not available to feature, having just received a 10-month ban. Even if Chelsea’s injury list is shorter, Mauricio Pochettino still has a long list of injuries to deal with.
Wesley Fofana (knee), Ben Chilwell (thigh), Trevoh Chalobah (thigh), and Carney Chukwuemeka (knee) are among the long-term absentees; they will undoubtedly miss Saturday’s game.
Romeo Lavia (ankle) and Christopher Nkunku (knee) are getting closer to playing again, but the club disclosed earlier this week that they were still going through their rehabilitation programmes, so it’s unlikely that either of them will play this weekend.
Due to a shoulder issue, Levi Colwill missed the England match against Manchester City prior to the two-week international break. As a result, he was left off the team. The defender is making good progress, though, as evidenced by the photo of him and the rest of the team playing on the grass at Cobham.
Similarly, a knee ailment led Malo Gusto to withdraw from the France Under-21 team. However, the Frenchman was also seen playing on the grass at Chelsea’s practise facility, suggesting that he might have some involvement at St James’ Park.
