Chelsea injury news: Jorginho a doubt vs Man City

Chelsea midfielder Jorginho is a major doubt for their Carabao Cup clash tonight at Manchester City.

The Lowdown: Jorginho knock

The Italian played the full 90 minutes in the Blues’ recent 1-0 home defeat against Arsenal on the weekend.

But there are now doubts over the fitness of the 30-year-old star heading into tonight’s game at the Etihad Stadium, with Graham Potter potentially not risking him so early in a cup competition and with a tough trip to Newcastle United on the weekend.

The Latest: Potter’s comments

Potter spoke about potential injury problems in his pre-match press conference where he admitted that Jorginho’s chances of featuring don’t look good.

“Jorginho has a slight problem with his foot, so he’s doubtful for tomorrow,” Potter said.

It’s the only fresh injury concern for the Blues with the Chelsea boss declaring, “Apart from that we’re with pretty much the same group that we had.”

However, the 47-year-old also confirmed that Mateo Kovacic still hasn’t fully recovered from his knee problem.

“He’s just had an ongoing knee issue that’s a little bit of discomfort, but it hasn’t stopped him completely. Certainly, we’ve had to be conscious of that fact during this period. It’s not a massive problem for him, he’ll be fine for the World Cup, it’s fine,” he added.

The Verdict: Save for Newcastle

It will surely be a no-brainer for Potter to preserve his two key central midfielders for the weekend tie against the league’s form side Newcastle, with Jorginho making 18 appearances and the Croatian featuring in 15 this season.

The league has to be the Blues’ immediate thought with them winless in their last four outings in the top flight, slipping to seventh in the table, although a run in the cup that they’ve previously won five times would be made sweeter by knocking out City who’ve won six of the previous nine Carabao Cups.

The Englishman has a tough dilemma, as victory tonight would significantly improve their chances of silverware this season and make for a confidence booster heading into the Toon clash and the World Cup, but gambling on the fitness of two star players wouldn’t be the right course of approach.