Chelsea have been dealt a massive injury blow ahead of their opening match of the 23/24 Premier League season.
New signing Christopher Nkunku suffered a suspected knee injury during Chelsea’s pre-season friendly against Borussia Dortmund in Chicago.
The Frenchman was forced off after just 22 minutes as Chelsea went on to draw the match 1-1.
With a huge clash against Liverpool on the horizon, it has been reported that Nkunku is set to miss the start of the Premier League season.
According to The Guardian journalist Jacob Steinberg, Nkunku is set to undergo knee surgery after suffering meniscus damage.
He tweeted: “Initial hope was that Christopher Nkunku would not be out for long but unfortunately he is set to have surgery on his knee injury after suffering meniscus damage.
“Chelsea forward picked up the injury on that awful injury in Chicago last week.”
This latest development could force Chelsea to further invest in the transfer window.
Initial hope was that Christopher Nkunku would not be out for long but unfortunately he is set to have surgery on his knee injury after suffering meniscus damage. Chelsea forward picked up the injury on that awful injury in Chicago last week #cfc
— Jacob Steinberg (@JacobSteinberg) August 8, 2023
Apart from Nkunku, the Stamford Bridge club have so far brought in Nicolas Jackson, Angelo, Lesley Ugochukwu, Robert Sanchez and Axel Disasi.
Ahead of this weekend, new Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino said: “We are in a good way; we are building something special I think.
He continued: “We are preparing ourselves and we know it will be tough the first game, and then the next game and the next game. But we need to arrive with a good mentality.”
Chelsea fans will be expecting much better results in the new season after their dismal 22/23 campaign.
The Blues had three managers in charge in the shapes of Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter and Frank Lampard as they finished in 12th place.
Gary Neville predicts Liverpool’s exact Premier League finish next season
Gary Neville has predicted Liverpool to finish in the top-four in the Premier League next season, though admits that the Reds are far from challenging for the title.
Speaking on the Overlap, the Sky Sports pundit claimed that Liverpool could finish in the top-four ahead of the likes of Newcastle United, Chelsea and Tottenham, but the likes of Arsenal and Manchester City will be too much to take on.
Neville said when asked about Liverpool’s chances next season in the Premier League: “I don’t look at Liverpool at the moment and think ‘wow’ they are going to be challenging Arsenal or City for the league.”
When pushed to give his top-eight Premier League prediction, Neville said: “I think Arsenal, City, Man United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Villa, Newcastle and Tottenham.”
Whilst Liverpool have spent well this summer, many fans would agree that more business needs to be done before the Reds are ready to challenge for the Premier League title again next season.
And having missed out on a UEFA Champions League spot last season, a return to Europe’s elite club competition should be the main priority for Liverpool in the new campaign.
Gary Neville summed up Liverpool’s current squad in a nutshell
It’ll always be hard for Liverpool fans to agree on Neville, yet the former Manchester United captain has hit the nail on the head in his assessment with the Anfield side.
Arsenal and City are far and away the best two sides in the Premier League heading into the new season, and whilst Liverpool could challenge depending on who they bring in, the Reds simply have to focus on the top-four battle.
Indeed, Liverpool are good enough to beat anyone on their day in the league, and regaining that spark and that fear will be key in Jurgen Klopp pushing his side back to the top-four come the end of next season.