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Chelsea handed Pedro Neto injury concern as Enzo Maresca transfer headache emerges

Chelsea forward Pedro Neto.
-Credit: (Image: UEFA via Getty Images)


Chelsea had another busy summer transfer window with 13 new players signed by the Blues.

Recently-appointed head coach Enzo Maresca will now have the difficult task of building a coherent side as he looks to get to grips with the top job at Stamford Bridge. The Italian has endured a mixed start to life at Chelsea with a defeat, a win and a draw in the Premier League so far.

But one concern which may be out of Maresca's control are the worrying injury records of several stars within his squad. Research emerging from Sporting Post has revealed that no fewer than four Chelsea players have missed an average of more than 100 days - over any given campaign on average - through injury.

Wesley Fofana has missed the most with 163.4 days out, while Reece James is second at 121.6. New signing Pedro Neto comes in at third with 116.8 days injured, while Ben Chilwell is fourth with 109.6 days out on average.

The news is perhaps not a surprise to Maresca with none of Chelsea's most injured players making more than 24 appearances across all competitions last season. James made the least amount of appearances, with 11, and Neto made the most with 24.

In terms of the Blues' least injury-prone players, Axel Disasi tops the list with just 7.6 days out on average with Mykhaylo Mudryk in second on 10.4 days out. Summer signing Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is the fourth least injured with 13.7 days out.

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Possible solutions to prevent future injury problems have been provided by Stephen Smith, CEO of Kitman Labs. Smith's company are experts on sports science and performance intelligence - having worked within the Premier League and hundreds of other sports clubs and organisations.

"We typically can't isolate a single variable and proclaim that it's the lone contributing factor," he told The Manchester Evening News back in May. "If we want the answer, we need to ask the real question. It's not 'what's the main cause?' It's what do we know or understand about the contributing factors that led to it.

"It's about better understanding what athletes are doing, how they're recovering, gaining a better understanding on how they move, how they sleep.

"Additionally, it's understanding each individual athlete's strength and fitness profile at the same time, and being able to track, monitor and quantify all these things, then understand and identify the patterns that are occurring prior to injuries emerging, which will allow clubs to make better decisions in the future and apply those insights or that intelligence to how they manage their athletes going forward."

Injuries are, then, a major concern when it comes to the Blues. The full list of Chelsea's most and least injury-prone players can be found below;

Chelsea's 10 most injury-prone players - Average number of days injured per season

Wesley Fofana - 163.4

Reece James - 121.6

Pedro Neto - 116.8

Ben Chilwell - 109.6

Christopher Nkunku - 83.2

Benoit Badiashile - 81.6

Carney Chukwuemeka - 79

Noni Madueke - 72.5

Levi Colwill - 59.3

Joao Felix - 58.4

Chelsea's 10 least injury-prone players - Average number of days injured per season

Axel Disasi - 7.6

Mykhaylo Mudryk - 10.4

Moises Caicedo - 12

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall - 13.7

Enzo Fernandez - 15.6

Marc Cucurella - 23

Tosin Adarabioyo - 25.4

Robert Sanchez - 29.4

Cole Palmer - 31

Marcus Bettinelli - 34.4