Chelsea injury news as Liverpool add to enormous absentee list for Carabao Cup final

Chelsea fans will know the feeling, and there won’t be much sympathy for their Liverpool counterparts. It has been yet another bad week for high-profile injuries, and the numbers dropping out of contention for a place in the Carabao Cup final has grown yet again.

Having dealt with large numbers of absentees for much of the season there has been a sense of frustration from Blues supporters this week. As Jurgen Klopp watched Diogo Jota go off against Brentford this weekend, there was a stream of social media pages highlighting just how big the Reds’ fitness problems were.

Mohamed Salah had been out since his return from the Africa Cup of Nations before he came on against the Bees – there was a stage just one week ago where his place in the final was at risk. A possible relapse to the hamstring injury that he picked up in Ivory Coast has made him a major doubt yet again.

Klopp offered no specific update on the Egyptian on Tuesday before Liverpool’s clash at Anfield against Luton but did say that there are a group of players being dealt with “day-by-day.” The squad selected against the Hatters might clear up a few issues with Darwin Nunez, Salah, and Dominik Szoboszlai all up against it for Sunday’s game.

These problems are added to a list of long-term issues for speedy winger Ben Doak, Joel Matip, Stefan Bajcetic, and Thiago Alcantara. For many Chelsea fans it was a case of small violins though. Mauricio Pochettino has been able to reel off almost an entire XI out through injury at most stages this term.

The issues for Reece James, Wesley Fofana, Lesley Ugochukwu, Romeo Lavia, Carney Chukwuemeka, and until recently Robert Sanchez and Trevoh Chalobah, have all been so serious that they have largely gone unquestioned in press conferences. Some of these names have been back for short periods, or are currently in the process of returning (Chalobah and Sanchez), but none of the others have started a game since December 24 – and that is only Ugochukwu.

Marc Cucurella is also out – though he has returned to solo training at Cobham, football.londonunderstands – and has been since December, while a problematic few weeks at the back has left Pochettino without two of his first-choice centre-backs. Benoit Badiashile is ruled out for the final, and Thiago Silva is a huge doubt after missing the cut for the squad against Manchester City on Saturday.

Christopher Nkunku is back but has still only made three starts for the club since his transfer last summer and looked worryingly off the pace at the Etihad Stadium when subbed on. That there has been a revolving door of enormous issues at Stamford Bridge in not only keeping players fit but also getting them back in good time, has been left uncovered in the wider media in the eyes of many.

It is this that grates with supporters ahead of the final. Much of the year has been spent berating Chelsea’s lack of squad depth despite committing to over £1billion worth of transfers on new players, but Liverpool’s problems are immediately highlighted as being unlucky and detrimental to their hopes on multiple fronts.

That being said, the prospect of the third domestic final in three years between these sides has been dampened somewhat by the latest troubles for Klopp. Jota has been ruled out of the final after being stretchered off against Brentford, meanwhile Curtis, Alisson Becker, and Trent Alexander-Arnold are also out.

It leaves a staggering list of names that will not be on the pitch, or at least in contention to be, come February 25. Here, football.londonhas the current state of play. *Warning, it’s not pretty for either side.*

Chelsea players definitely out of the final: Reece James, Wesley Fofana, Marc Cucurella, Lesley Ugochukwu, Romeo Lavia, Benoit Badiashile

Chelsea players doubtful for the final: Robert Sanchez, Thiago Silva, Carney Chukwuemeka

Liverpool players definitely out of the final: Ben Doak, Joel Matip, Stefan Bajcetic, Thiago Alcantara, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Diogo Jota, Alisson Becker, Curtis Jones

Liverpool players doubtful for the final: Dominik Szoboszlai, Darwin Nunez, Mohamed Salah