£62m of Chelsea talent added to injury list with two unknown problems thinning the squad

Lesley Ugochukwu and Noni Madueke have both been added to Chelsea’s injury report today, with Mauricio Pochettino due to speak to the media any minute at Cobham.

It’s the last news we needed, at the worst moment. Both are only fringe players at the moment, but with two games coming up this week and a busy period ahead, this is the time for fringe players to shine.

Ugochukwu (who cost Chelsea €27m), for example, would have been a prime candidate to replace the suspended Conor Gallagher in midfield. He will now not have the chance.

Madueke (who cost €35m) has more players in the queue for minutes ahead of him, but with Gallagher and Ugochukwu out, we may see Cole Palmer play in the middle, making Madueke actually fairly likely to make pitch at some point this week had he not hurt himself.

We hope for more details on their respective problems from Pochettino in the press conference later