Chelsea defeated Crystal Palace 1-0 on Sunday as N’Golo Kante scored the only goal of the game in the second half.
However, Olivier Giroud was forced to leave the field on crutches following a tackle from James Tomkins. He was substituted during the 76th minute of the game and replaced by fellow forward Alvaro Morata. The 2018 World Cup winner now joins the Chelsea injury list, which also includes the likes of Cesc Fabregas, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Danny Drinkwater, Pedro as well as Callum Hudson-Odoi.
After 20 games, the Blues are in fourth place on the League standings with 43 points. They are seemingly out of the title race but they will still have to consistently play good football in order to ensure that they attain a top-four finish. They are five points ahead of fifth-placed Arsenal.
Blues manager Maurizio Sarri has been hesitant to bring in any players during the January transfer window. One option he could utilize if Giroud’s injury is serious, is recall youngster Tammy Abraham, who is currently having a successful loan spell with Championship outfit Aston Villa. It will be important that the Blues have an available second striker for the rest of the campaign and this is an option which should seriously be considered should Giroud’s injury prove to be serious.
The 21-year-old has smashed in 14 goals from 19 appearances for Villa and is arguably now ready to play at the the highest level.
After the game, Sarri said, as quoted by Birmingham Live: “The problem is his ankle. I don’t know the severity. We have to wait for tomorrow. In the last few days we have been a but unlucky,”
“In 10 minutes we had three injuries – Fabregas, Loftus and Drinkwater – then Giroud, and we were already without Pedro and Odoi. We are in trouble because, in January, we have to play every three days. Fabregas is a neck problem.”
