Oh, my. Chelsea…Bundesliga’s top scorer, Nkunku, suffered a terrible knee injury in a friendly match → was absent for at least a few months
British media ‘Football London’ reported on the 8th (Korea Standard Time) that “Nkunku will miss the opening match against Liverpool in the Premier League due to injury.”
Chelsea will invite Liverpool to Stamford Bridge, their home stadium in London, at 0:30 a.m. on the 14th to start the 2023/24 Premier League. With less than a week left before the opening game, Chelsea is on alert as Nkunku, who is wearing a Chelsea uniform this summer, suffered a knee injury.
French striker Nkunku, born in 1997, scored 16 goals in the Bundesliga last season for RB Leipzig, becoming the league’s joint top scorer with Niklas Pulkruk (Berder Bremen).
Nkunku, who won the title of the Bundesliga’s top scorer, entered the Premier League in June by wearing a Chelsea uniform for a transfer fee of 66 million euros (about 95 billion won). Nkunku, who entered Chelsea with high expectations, played well in pre-season friendly matches, raising fans’ expectations ahead of the season.
Nkunku played in all five friendly matches Chelsea played during the pre-season and scored a total of three goals. It was a friendly match, but Chelsea fans expected Nkunku to show what he would do in the official match as he showed sharp goal determination to overshadow his adaptation period.
However, Nkunku suffered a knee injury in the last friendly match against Borussia Dortmund ahead of the season’s opening. Nkunku, who started in a friendly match against Dortmund in Chicago in March, collapsed on the field in the 19th minute of the first half with his left knee held.
Chelsea hurriedly put Mikhail Moodrick in place, bringing in Nkunku, and immediately proceeded with a thorough examination. After the match ended in a 1-1 draw, Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino said in an interview, “The medical team is checking it, but I hope it’s not a big problem. “We hope Nkunku can come back to the team soon,” he said, hoping it won’t be a big injury.
Chelsea members and fans, including Pochettino, hoped it would not be a big deal, but a thorough examination confirmed that Nkunku’s injury was worse than expected and that he could not avoid a long-term absence.
Alex Goldberg, a reporter familiar with Chelsea’s news, said on social media on the 8th, “As a result of checking, Nkunku is expected to be absent for at least a few months,” adding, “It’s much worse than I thought at first.” It’s really terrible.”
Simon Johnson, a reporter for The Athletic, also said, “Eunkunku’s knee condition seems to be bad,” adding, “Chelsea is expected to clarify the situation through SNS or its website soon.”
Pochettino is expected to attend a pre-press conference ahead of the Premier League opening match soon, so he is expected to explain in detail Nkunku’s injury and absence period through a press conference.
If Nkunku is absent for a long time, Chelsea will be hit hard ahead of the new season. Chelsea, one of the big clubs representing the Premier League, received a disastrous report card last season, ranking 12th in the league.
One of the causes was a severe scoring drought. The players who scored the most goals for Chelsea last season were Kai Havertz and Raheem Sterling, who scored a total of nine goals. In the meantime, Havertz’s transfer to Arsenal further reduced his poor offense. 토토사이트먹튀
In order not to repeat last season, Chelsea have started to reorganize its offense under Pochettino. Nkunku, a former Bundesliga top scorer, was brought in, and Senegalese striker Nikola Jackson was also recruited for 37 million euros (about 52.4 billion won). Even though he was a young player born in 2001, he scored 12 league goals for Villarreal last season, making him look forward to his future.
However, Chelsea fans were most looking forward to Nkunku, so fans were depressed by the news of Nkunku’s injury. He also expressed concern that his performance would decrease due to a knee injury. Attention is focusing on how Chelsea and Pochettino will overcome the crisis of Nkunku’s long-term injury.