Christopher Nkunku Injured In Pre-season Match, Chelsea Worried Ahead Of The English Premier League

Chelsea player Christopher Nkunku. (Photo: Twitter/@ChelseaFC)

JAKARTA - Christopher Nkunku became an impressive player when Chelsea underwent pre-season 2023/2024. However, it had to be paid dearly.

The player was injured and made the team worried about his situation.

The match between Chelsea and Borussia Dortmund took place at the Soldier Field Stadium, Chicago on Thursday, August 3 morning WIB. The match ended 1-1 after Marius Wolf's goal was met by the Blues through the execution of Mason Burstow.

In that match Nkunku appeared as a starter, but he had to be pulled out when the match entered the 22nd minute. This happened because Nkunku had a knee problem.

This situation then raised concerns for the Blues, especially since the English Premier League competition is in sight.

The competition will start in less than a week. Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino said Nkunku immediately received treatment and hoped he could rejoin the team soon.

"The doctors are examining him. He has a chance to score, but he feels something in his knee. Hopefully it's not a big issue and he can go straight back to the team," Pochettino was quoted as saying by the BBC on Friday, August 4.

"We took a few days to check on him and until we returned to London, it was difficult to know fully," added the manager.

Nkunku himself actually just joined Chelsea this summer. However, his presence succeeded in bringing great hope to the fans.

That's because Nkunku managed to score three goals in four pre-season test matches before against Dortmund.

Regarding the injury that befell Nkunku, Pochettino did not want to blame bad field conditions. The Soldier Field field grass, which is the headquarters of the NFL team Chicago Bears, does not seem flat.

"We always take the risk that the field arena is not that perfect, because this is used for different sports and sometimes that's the risk of doing the tour," he said.

"I think this is just a bit unfortunate, but we can't complain about the pitch and blame the pitch for being injured. I think it's just bad luck," continued the manager.