Chelsea Christopher Nkunku plan confirmed after Brighton goal amid injury worries and new concern

Chelsea have been handed a well-timed boost heading into the summer with Christopher Nkunku and Malo Gusto's international services not being called on. Both players have spent time injured this season but have shown just why Mauricio Pochettino has been so keen to have them in the side when fit.

Nkunku more than Gusto has been absent for the Blues in his first year at the club, not making his competitive debut until December. The start of 2024 was also injury hit for the Frenchman after a failed return saw him ruled out for two months more.

In total it has led to him playing just 13 times so far in all competitions since his £52million move from RB Leipzig last year. Despite this, Nkunku has scored three times in the Premier League from his two starts and eight substitute appearances.

Against Brighton on Wednesday he showed just why there was so much excitement over his move to Stamford Bridge, slotting in from none other than Gusto's cross to put Chelsea 2-0 in a key match on their quest to secure European football for 2024/25. It has also been evidence of just what Pochettino has been missing.

Before the turn of the year the head coach was keen to point out just how much Nkunku's struggles have been felt. "He’s a player that when you see the goals he scored last season, he provides goals, and I think we’re missing goals," he explained. "That’s why we think he’s a player that can be important for us.

“He’s proved he can score goals in the Bundesliga. If today we had eight or 10 goals from Nkunku, maybe the situation [in the league] would be completely different."

READ MORE: Chelsea send transfer chief to complete £53m deal as possible Reece James replacement approached

READ MORE: Chelsea make unexpected decision on seven players ahead of Bournemouth in Mauricio Pochettino plan

Cole Palmer has taken on the role of chief scorer and provider with remarkable ease and Nicolas Jackson has provided his own share of goals, but Nkunku had been tipped for an immediate impact in England after scoring 47 and assisting 43 in the Bundesliga across three seasons.

During the tour of America last year he showed the quality that had people off their seats, slotting into the Chelsea team across the front line with ease, not appearing to get out of first gear either. Having suffered serious injuries in each of his last three seasons though, the decision by Didier Deschamps not to call him up for the European Championships next month will be a relief of sorts for Chelsea.

Nkunku will now have three months to prepare for next season, something that will see him have a full and unimpeded summer tour once more as he looks to keep building his sharpness. “Of course he could’ve been called, but he had a complicated season," explained Les Bleus head coach Deschamps.

"He played some minutes recently, but it’s maybe not quite enough. He’s healed, that’s for sure, but he hasn’t yet started a match since his return."

In what is already a stacked France squad, Nkunku has only earned 10 caps, eight of them from the bench. He missed the World Cup in 2022 due to a knee injury picked up on the eve of the tournament and only managed brief substitute appearances in the Euro 2024 qualifiers last summer.

As for Gusto, he has had to play more than most expected this year due to Reece James' own continued issues. The 20-year-old has been one of the most impressive of the new signings under Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital regardless, assisting nine times in 36 games so far in his debut season.

In November he was ruled out for three weeks due to a muscle injury picked up whilst away with France's Under-21 side. He also missed four league games across April and the start of May with troubles, as well as backing out of the squad readying themselves for the Olympic Games this summer. The match against Brighton was his first start for a month.

He is still likely to be called up for the Olympics in Paris in Thierry Henry's camp. His form for Chelsea has only helped him to the one senior cap so far. It could see his summer disrupted somewhat, though perhaps not as much as if he had been named in the Euros squad.

It will leave both players under Chelsea's care for an extended period. Given the way that injuries have gone for the club in the last year, it will come as a sigh of relief.