Ian Maatsen loan highlights major Chelsea issue before Fulham as Blues await injury assessments
Chelsea have already seen some outgoing loans this month in the shape of Eddie Beach and Alex Matos to Gateshead and Huddersfield Town respectively, and have recalled others from their temporary moves away. Andrey Santos and Zak Sturge have both returned to Cobham after difficult stays with Nottingham Forest and Peterborough United.
Ian Maatsen is set to be the next to head out. The Dutch defender is expected to make the move to Borussia Dortmund and was absent fromMauricio Pochettino's squad that faced Middlesbrough on Tuesday night as he flew out to Germany.
That saw Chelsea go into the game one player short of the number of substitutes permitted. Pochettino continued to name two goalkeepers on the bench in Marcus Bettinelli and Lucas Bergstrom.
That left the Blues head coach with options of Mykhailo Mudryk, Armando Broja, Alfie Gilchrist, Deivid Washington, Dylan Williams and Michael Golding to change things up. Against Boro, Mudryk and Broja were selected by Pochettino in the second period while Gilchrist was a late addition to proceedings.
While Chelsea's boss did have academy players to offer more rotation to his side, the evening was evidence that he perceives his options to be limited and the absence of Maatsen has exacerbated that issue. For all of the signings the club have made in the last 12 months, 11 injury issues and Nicolas Jackson's absence due to AFCON has left the squad under strain.
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