Former kings of the money table in the Premiership before being blown away by the riches of Manchester City, Chelsea is currently facing an injury crisis that is threatening to stretch the limits of team.
Earlier this week, the Blues announced that defender Alex will be out for three weeks following his groin injury sustained in the home victory over Arsenal. Now it seem they will also have to contend with the loss of new signing Yossi Benayoun for most of the season as his torn muscle appeared to be more serious that initially thought. Benayoun suffered the injury in the Carling Cup defeat against Newcastle.
This must be one of the most serious injury crisis that Ancelotti has faced since he took over in the last campaign. The seriousness of the injuries is compounded by the lack of reinforcement over the summer as financial realities force the club to tighten its belt and reduce transfer and wage bills.
The club only brought in Ramirez and Benayoun in the summer while letting go Carvalho, Ballack and Cole. Although Benayoun’s absence might not trouble Chelsea that much, it would mean the current first team midfield of Mikel, Essien and Ramirez will probably have to play much of the season without any help from an experienced bench.
Missing Alex for the three weeks might be more of a bother for Ancelotti as he does not have good cover for defence. He would most likely use Ivanovic as John Terry’s partner but as proven last year, the partnership is susceptible to opposing team given that both are severely lacking in pace.
This is all good news for the chasing pack that have seen the Blues steamroll past their opponents (bar for Manchester City) since the start of the season.
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