Chelsea manager Antonio Conte is reportedly fearing that his concerns over failing to address a lack of squad depth during the summer could soon cause selection headaches as injuries begin to mount up in the Stamford Bridge dressing room.
Victor Moses was the latest casualty at the weekend, joining N’Golo Kante, Alvaro Morata and Danny Drinkwater on the sidelines.
Morata, who was nursing a hamstring problem prior to the October international break, has been tipped to return to action in the Champions League this week, but general depth is a real worry.
It was regularly reported during that summer that Conte was growing increasingly frustrated over a lack of quality buys. Now, according to the Daily Telegraph, the Italian is worried about the potential ‘consequences’ of the disappointing recruitment.
Chelsea were fortunate last season in having a relatively clear fixture schedule and suffering hardly any injuries, but this season is already panning out quite differently.
It is suggested that playing extra games in the Champions League is the likely reason for the sudden flurry of hamstring injuries. That will give Conte a serious problem if he feels his squad as a whole isn’t good enough to cope with the increased demands.Conte still doesn’t seem to have any faith in back-up striker Michy Batshuayi, who lasted only 57 minutes in place of the injured Morata against Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Injured Crystal Palace striker Christian Benteke is said to be of some interest to Conte. The inexperienced and relatively unknown Red Star Belgrade forward Richmond Boakye is another.
