He had not played for more than two months and Chelsea’s defeat in the League Cup final against Liverpool (0-1) on February 25. This Sunday, Christopher Nkunku returned to competition during the Blues’ crushing victory against West Ham (5-0) in the Premier League. The 26-year-old striker came on in the 77th minute of play, when his team was already leading by four goals.
The former PSG and Leipzig player, who missed the 2022 World Cup due to a torn lateral ligament in his left knee, has had physical problems for several months. Returning from an injury to his left knee at the beginning of February, he was hurt again less than a month later. His absence, which was supposed to be three or four weeks, was ultimately extended. Enough to deprive the French striker of the last international window with the Blues, in March.
Too much competition among the Blues?
Chelsea are in seventh place in the English championship, two points behind Newcastle, currently sixth. With three more matches to go, Christopher Nkunku’s club maintains its chances of European qualification for next season.
Perceived at one point as an alternative to Antoine Griezmann, the French striker (11 matches this season in all competitions) has, deep down, never given up on the idea of playing in the Euro with the Blues. But from the Blues to the Blues, there is a world and time seems far too short to shake up the hierarchy of the France group in a competitive sector of play where Barcola and Diaby are knocking on the door.
For his part, Kingsley Coman, victim of an adductor injury on April 13, must resume the race. Regarding the Bavarian player, the French staff is not ruling out any hypothesis for the moment and is carefully following the progress of his recovery. Didier Deschamps will reveal his list of 23 to 26 players in just over ten days, on May 16.
