Chelsea handed Thiago Silva scare ahead of Manchester City fixture

Chelsea have been handed another defensive blow ahead of Saturday's Premier League fixture against Manchester City.

Throughout the 2023-24 campaign, head coach Mauricio Pochettino has been plagued by issues at the back, with the majority of his senior players having spent time on the sidelines.

Last week, Benoit Badiashile became the latest name to be sidelined for the foreseeable future after suffering a groin injury against Aston Villa in the FA Cup.

According to reports, the French centre-back could be absent for approximately a month, ruling him out of the upcoming encounter with City and the EFL Cup final against Liverpool on February 25.

On a positive note, Chelsea were able to welcome Levi Colwill and Trevoh Chalobah back to the squad for Monday's contest at Crystal Palace after four-match and six-month absences respectively.

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Colwill came through the final 30 minutes as the Blues battled their way to a 3-1 win, but that came at the expense of Thiago Silva being withdrawn through injury.

Like with Badiashile, Silva sustained a groin issue when sliding in to make a block inside the penalty area, and it initially seemed that he may just be winded.

However, the Brazil international quickly indicated to the substitutes' bench that he needed to be withdrawn, resulting in Colwill's introduction when he may have preferred to be eased back into action.

After the game, Pochettino confirmed to reporters, as quoted by the Evening Standard: "We need to assess Thiago Silva tomorrow (Tuesday) because he felt something in his groin."

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While the 39-year-old has started to receive criticism over the level of his performances, Chelsea can ill-afford to suffer any more issues in the middle of their defence.

If Silva is ruled out in the short or long term, Pochettino will be reduced to having Axel Disasi, Colwill and Chalobah as his only three senior options for their upcoming meetings with the two best teams in England.

Chalobah has not played a competitive game all season, his last outing coming on the club's tour of the United States in the summer.

Twenty-year-old Alfie Gilchrist is a further alternative now that he has made two starts and eight substitute outings since December, but the academy graduate has been deployed at right-back instead.