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Chelsea suffer late injury worry for Bournemouth as Enzo Maresca left no choice in one position

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca
-Credit: (Image: Marc Atkins/Getty Images)


Chelsea have suffered yet another injury setback after goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen was taken off early whilst playing for Denmark's Under-21 side on Wednesday night. It comes as Enzo Maresca continues to work without a group of key players heading into the return of Premier League football this weekend.

Jorgensen, who is yet to play a domestic match for Chelsea, has become the go-to 'keeper in the Conference League so far. After arriving from Villarreal over the summer for around £21million, he is still competing with Robert Sanchez to become first choice.

Any hopes of usurping his Spanish teammate have been put on hold though, with Denmark's youth coach Steffen Hojer subbing him off late on during a 5-0 win over Czech Republic. "He’s being checked," Hojer said after the match.

"I just asked if he was okay. He was annoyed, but hopefully it is not something that is really wrong."

For Maresca, it is unlikely to seriously change his plans ahead of a trip to Bournemouth on Saturday evening. Sanchez has re-established himself as the No.1 having lost his spot under Mauricio Pochettino last season, but Jorgensen is expected to seriously push him for that position.

Signed due to his comfort on the ball, the 22-year-old has so far only played two matches for the Blues, both against Servette in Europe. He impressed in the play-off first leg at Stamford Bridge, helping Chelsea take a 2-0 lead to Switzerland, but was caught unbalanced for a late goal in the return fixture which set up a nervy ending.

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Also joining Jorgensen as a doubt for the match is Romeo Lavia. He is yet to be seen in training at Cobham during the break having missed the final three games before the break. Reece James is in the same camp and is yet to appear this season after himself being dealt a setback.

Although James was suspended for the opening month of the campaign he would have been eligible to appear in the Conference League. Malo Gusto is another who Maresca will be assessing late on.

He had been called up to France's Under-21 side but withdrew before even meeting up with with the squad. Gusto had to go off with half an hour left of the last Chelsea match against Crystal Palace, holding his hamstring.

The good news for Chelsea is that Cole Palmer has been in training after also backing out of international duty with England.