Every international break is going to be a struggle for Chelsea with the number of South American players they have in their squad.The trip over there and back is killer – to say nothing of the foot...
Every international break is going to be a struggle for Chelsea with the number of South American players they have in their squad.
The trip over there and back is killer – to say nothing of the football they have to play while they’re out there.
Enzo faces tighter turnaround than usual
Enzo Fernandez applauds the fans while playing for Argentina.
This week there’s some particularly bad news for Enzo Fernandez. His Argentina side were due to be playing on Monday, but according to the Evening Standard that game has now been moved to Tuesday night – Wednesday morning in the UK by the time it finishes.
Fernandez then will have to travel back across the Atlantic. Chelsea face Nottingham Forest in the early kick off on Saturday morning. Given Fernandez will likely get back home late on Thursday night in the best case scenario, that’s a very tight turnaround physically and mentally.
We’ve seen numerous times in recent years where he’s looked drained after making a similar journey. Our record in general after international breaks is pretty poor. With a great chance to win 3 points against Forest, we can’t let that repeat.
Chelsea have team decision made for them by news
This is a frustrating blow, but if anything there is a positive side to it.
Chelsea just can’t be relying on Enzo after such a short break – if anything, this should remove the temptation of starting him at all.
The good news is that multiple other South American players are getting an unusual rest in this break. Joao Pedro, Moises Caicedo, Alejandro Garnacho, Andrey Santos and Facundo Buonanotte are all being spared the trip.
So even though we now can’t count on Enzo, we should have Santos ready to replace him alongside a fresh Caicedo, with Buonanotte also available to play in the hole if Cole Palmer isn’t back.
Category: General Sports
