Chelsea XI vs Newcastle: Gallagher starts - starting lineup, confirmed team news and injury latest
Conor Gallagher has been deemed fit to start Chelsea’s Premier League clash with Newcastle tonight.
The England midfielder lines up as usual for the Blues at Stamford Bridge and captains the side having initially been considered doubtful due to a virus.
England duo Ben Chilwell and Levi Colwill miss out though having been added to Mauricio Pochettino’s list of concerns, despite both starting last weekend’s 2-2 draw at Brentford.
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Colwill suffered a toe injury in that game, while Chilwell must see a specialist after sustaining an issue with his knee.
They will both miss tonight’s match at Stamford Bridge, though Gallagher starts in a key boost for Chelsea.
Blues boss Pochettino had already revealed that no players already sidelined would be returning from injury in time to face Newcastle.
He said last Thursday: “The same situation as last week. You all know now that we’ve added Levi Colwill and Chilwell to the list of injured players.
“Since Saturday, Gallagher is not training because he’s got a virus. Let's see if it's possible for him to be available. We need to assess him. It’s very frustrating and disappointing, because the situation has never allowed us [to] work with the full squad.
“Yes, we are suffering this kind of negativity in terms of injuries, but we cannot stop believing and stop working. We need to give confidence to the players who will play on Monday.”
Chelsea still have the likes of Reece James, Lesley Ugochukwu, Christopher Nkunku, Benoit Badiashile, Wesley Fofana and Carney Chukwuemeka sidelined with longer-term injuries, and Pochettino has needed to make up the numbers in recent training sessions.
“Yesterday, there were nine young kids from the academy [in training],” he said.
Chelsea XI: Petrovic, Gusto, Disasi, Chalobah, Cucurella, Fernandez, Caicedo, Palmer, Gallagher, Sterling, Jackson
Subs: Sanchez, Thiago Silva, Mudryk, Madueke, Chukwuemeka, Casadei, Deivid Washington, Gilchrist, Acheampong
Injuries: Colwill, Chilwell, Badiashile, Fofana, James, Nkunku, Lavia, Ugochukwu
Date and time: 8pm GMT on Monday March 11, 2024
Venue: Stamford Bridge