Chelsea are facing a desperate race against time to get both David Luiz and Gary Cahill fit for next month's Champions League final.
Chelsea are facing a desperate race against time to get both David Luiz and Gary Cahill fit for next month's Champions League final.
With John Terry and Branislav Ivanovic among four Chelsea players suspended, they are woefully short of defenders for the final in Munich on May 19. This raises the prospect of Jose Bosingwa being drafted in as an emergency centre-half.
Luiz missed both legs of the semi-final against Barcelona after tearing his hamstring in the FA Cup semi-final against Tottenham Hotspur on April 15. Normally such an injury has at least a four-week rehabilitation programme and it is hoped the Brazilian international will return to training in the week of the Champions League final.
However, it would appear unlikely that he will be risked before then and Chelsea have to be extremely careful that he does not suffer a recurrence of the injury.
There will also be an issue of match fitness for Luiz and, again, Chelsea will have to manage the situation carefully given the high stakes for the match and the player's increased importance. It had initially been hoped that Luiz would return two weeks after suffering the injury but that is unlikely.
Cahill, meanwhile, pulled up injured early on during the semi-final second leg against Barcelona on Tuesday after what he later said was feeling "a pop at the top of my hamstring".
The extent of Cahill's injury is still being assessed but there is hope that he has not suffered a tear and might simply have strained his hamstring which would mean a quicker return to fitness than Luiz. However, as Cahill suggested, the issue for him will be mobility and if he can sprint properly.
It all means that Terry and Ivanovic are set to be their central defensive pairing in the remaining Premier League matches and also for the FA Cup final on May 5.
There is an added complication in that Terry is currently nursing himself through two cracked ribs and Chelsea's interim head coach, Roberto Di Matteo, had hoped to ration the player's appearances with four league matches still to play, and fourth place to be fought for, as well as the FA Cup final against Liverpool.
Chelsea have faced a tough fixture schedule with nine matches in 29 days and it has caused a strain on the squad and its fitness levels which has now been added to by the suspensions. As well as Terry and Ivanovic, Ramires and Raul Meireles have also been ruled out of the Champions League final after collecting bookings against Barcelona.
Given the midfielders are also among Chelsea's younger players it is an added problem, especially as there are serious concerns as to whether Michael Essien will ever return to be the player he was after suffering yet another knee injury.
Cahill said he was "praying" his injury is not "too bad" and added: "I'm hoping it's better than we first thought. I turned awkwardly and my foot got stuck and I just felt a pop at the top my hamstring
"Jogging around it didn't feel too bad but when the ball went in behind and I had to sprint I realised I'd done something to it.
"But to miss these games coming up my hamstring will have to be absolutely torn to shreds."
Cahill revealed that he and Terry had watched the final minutes of the Barcelona match in the tunnel.
"It was so nerve-racking," he said. "But in the end it was a great achievement and we were all celebrating. We tipped the tunnel upside down. Everything went over. It was amazing."
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