Mauricio Pochettino said it would impossible for the club to replace injured pair Reece James and Ben Chilwell in the transfer market as they are “the best full-backs in the world”.
Chilwell underwent a scan on Thursday on the hamstring problem that forced him off in the closing stages of the EFL Cup win over Brighton, with the manager confirming it “looks a bad injury” though he was unable to put a timescale to it.
New club captain James has not played since the 1-1 draw with Liverpool on the opening weekend of the Premier League season, and will not be fit to return before the next international break.
Both players missed significant portions of last season through injury, Chilwell playing 23 times in the league and James only 16, a contributing factor to Chelsea’s worst finish in 30 years.
Malo Gusto has deputised for James but will miss Monday’s game at Fulham after being red-carded against Aston Villa.
Marc Cucurella, Levi Colwill and Axel Disasi are all able to play at full-back but the manager said no deputy can be expected to bring what James and Chilwell do to the side.
“At all clubs, important players are missed when they don’t play,” he said. “If the question is ‘do we miss them?’ Of course. Reece is a top player and (Chilwell) also. When they’re at their best, they are the best full-backs in the world.
“But all teams when they miss important players are affected (in their) performance. Why did we not sign another Ben Chilwell and another Reece James? Because there’s only one Reece James and one Ben Chilwell.
“If you have in the squad one top player in one position, it’s difficult to bring in another one in the same position to sit on the bench. It’s about balance.”
Pochettino could be without as many as 11 players for the trip to Craven Cottage, with a lengthy injury list exacerbated by suspensions for Gusto and striker Nicolas Jackson.
Jackson is unavailable after collecting his fifth yellow card of the season against Villa, though there could be returns for Carney Chukwuemeka, who has not played since undergoing knee surgery in August, and Noni Madueke.
The manager was asked what he thought about Burnley boss Vincent Kompany’s proposal that players should be limited in the number of games they can play in a season in order to guard against injury.
“Maybe there are players that cannot cope with 70 games during the season, but another player can cope with that,” said Pochettino. “Another player only can cope with a limited percentage, because the risk is massive to get injured again.
“It’s difficult to generalise. We cannot put some limit on the players. The players want to play every single game. When it’s a top player who wants to play, how do you say no?”
Pochettino added that he may opt to play without a striker in the absence of Jackson, with Armando Broja not yet ready to start and Christopher Nkunku not available until December.
“The most important (thing) is to adapt to the players that are available, to try to find a way to perform,” he said. “Maybe different characteristics we can use, like we can play with one striker or without a striker.
“I need to asses all the squad and take that decision.”
Haaland has 'full trust' in Guardiola to halt Man City slump
Erling Haaland has "full trust" in the "best manager in the world", Pep Guardiola, to get Manchester City back on track against Tottenham in the Premier League on Saturday.
Guardiola's side have lost four matches in a row across all competitions, which is the Spaniard's longest losing run in his entire managerial career.
The Citizens last lost more consecutively between March and April 2006 under Stuart Pearce (six – the fifth game of which was also against Tottenham).
But after putting pen to paper on a new two-year contract extension at the club earlier this week, Guardiola has his eyes firmly set on returning to winning ways on home soil.
And Haaland, who has scored 105 goals in 114 appearances under Guardiola at City, believes they can make up the gap to leaders Liverpool, who are five points ahead.
"When you look at what he's been doing for the club, he's not bad, is he? So he's got my full trust," Haaland told Sky Sports.
"And if he tells me something, I'd better do it because he knows the best in the end. Everyone knows that. So I'm sure he will find solutions now as well. I'm sure of that.
"[Guardiola] demands us to be at our best in every training session, in every game. And that's what we need to do. It hasn't been good enough, losing four games now, but let's try to win the next."
Arsenal handed another injury blow as White ruled out for 'months'
Mikel Arteta confirmed that Arsenal defender Ben White is facing "months" on the sidelines after sustaining a knee injury.
White had been dealing with several issues all season and has missed five games in all competitions for the Gunners already this term.
After struggling through until the November international break, the decision was taken for him to undergo surgery in order to finally address the ongoing problems.
It serves as a bitter blow for Arteta, with only Thomas Parety (13) making more interceptions than White (11) for Arsenal in the Premier League this campaign.
Though Arteta confirmed that the surgery was successful, White is set for a lengthy spell out of the team.
"It has been different kinds of struggles. It has never been the same thing, but we had to make a decision. He has not improved over the last few weeks, unfortunately," said Arteta.
"We know that Ben is going to push every boundary, but it got to the point where we have to protect the player and we decided to do the surgery.
"He agreed with that and it is going to keep him out for a few months."
Asked for a specific time frame, Arteta added: "We have to see how he reacts post-surgery. I don't expect it to be half a year, but I cannot tell you exactly."
It offers a concern for Arteta in the full-back area, with the Spaniard also revealing on Friday that Takehiro Tomiyasu is "going to be out as well for a bit".
There was, however, some positive injury news for the Gunners ahead of welcoming Nottingham Forest to the Emirates on Saturday.
After not featuring for England during the international break, Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice are expected to be fit to feature against Nuno Espirito Santo's side.
Leandro Trossard will also be available for Arteta despite picking up a hamstring injury during the international break with Belgium.
Defender Riccardo Calafiori is also in contention for Saturday's game after a month out with a knee problem.
Conte hopes for Ranieri's success at Roma after Napoli clash
Antonio Conte hopes that everything will go well for Claudio Ranieri after he came out of retirement to take charge of Roma, but only after their Serie A clash this weekend.
Ranieri was tempted back into management by a return to where he began as a player. His third spell at Roma comes after the club sacked two coaches already this season and with the team 12th in the standings.
A trip to leaders Napoli is Ranieri's first task, and Conte is looking forward to meeting up with the 73-year-old.
"I am pleased to see Claudio, I have great esteem for him and there is also friendship," Conte told reporters ahead of Sunday's game.
"I am happy with the chance he has been given. It will be a tough game, for us and for them. Last year, Roma finished ahead of Napoli, they are in the Europa League and had a good transfer window.
"They are not performing according to expectations and I hope for Claudio that everything starts to work after Sunday's game."
The arrival of Ranieri in place of Ivan Juric brings with it not just the danger of the 'new manager bounce' but also upsets Conte's plans for the game.
"When a team changes coach there is an important input on a nervous level," Conte said.
"They are at the third change on the bench. It's inevitable that, if Juric had remained, we knew what kind of team we were going to face.
"Now it's an enigma, we don't have much information nor do we know how they will deal with us. So let's think about ourselves, there is a desire and enthusiasm to continue this path."
After a streak of 21 consecutive home wins in Serie A, Conte lost his last home league match (0-3 against Atalanta). Only once in his career has he recorded two consecutive home defeats in the competition: in November 2009, when he was in charge of Atalanta (against Juventus and Roma).
Napoli are top of the table, but Conte knows it is still early, and with just two points separating the top six clubs, which includes the likes of Atalanta, Fiorentina and Lazio, for now, it is a different title race than usual.
"Only 12 games have passed and there are many teams within very few points," he said.
"We are doing well, but so are the others. There isn't one team which has distanced the others. Perhaps there is a little amazement in seeing some teams in those positions in the standings."
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