Mauricio Pochettino ‘worried’ about Christopher Nkunku injury as he gives grim update on Chelsea striker

MAURICIO POCHETTINO is “worried” about Christopher Nkunku as injuries continue to plague the start of his Chelsea career.

The French forward, 26, only made his Blues debut in December after being sidelined with a knee problem for the first four months of the season.

Christopher Nkunku has only played four times for Chelsea since joining in the summerReuters

And he marked his first match in a Chelsea shirt with a consolation goal in a 2-1 defeat to Wolves.

He then started in a 2-1 win over Crystal Palace, before he came on as a second-half substitute in a 3-2 victory over Luton.

But Nkunku has been absent for Chelsea’s last two games due to a hip injury he picked up in training.

They were a 4-0 win over Preston in the FA Cup and a 1-0 defeat to Middlesbrough in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final.

He said: “We’re disappointed and a little bit worried because we want him involved again as soon as possible.

“We are still assessing him, we don’t know what is going to happen.

“It’s complicated with Christopher. It’s now between eight and 10 days since he could train.

“He was so close to feeling comfortable again, he started the game against Crystal Palace.”

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It means Chelsea – who have spent £1billion on players over the last 18 months – have received just four appearances and one goal for the £52million they spent on Nkunku in the summer.

And Pochettino, who is preparing for a West London derby against Fulham on Saturday lunchtime, is still looking for a member of his squad that can consistently lead the line up front.

Cole Palmer, Nicolas Jackson and Armando Broja have all played as the No9 in recent weeks.

But a positive update for Chelsea fans is defenders Ben Chilwell and Benoit Badiashile are set to return from injury and be included in the squad for their home clash with rivals Fulham.

Pochettino added: “The good news is having players like [Trevoh] Chalobah, Chilwell, Badiashile and [Carney] Chukwuemeka so close to being involved again and help the team to perform.”