Zakaria ruled out for four weeks as injuries continue to stack up for Chelsea

• Swiss star finally earned regular role
• Picked up knock versus Fulham
• Set to miss a month of action

WHAT HAPPENED? The Switzerland international midfielder had to be patient in pursuit of minutes following a loan move to Stamford Bridge from Serie A giants Juventus during the summer of 2022. He was able to work his way into favour under Graham Potter, earning himself a starting berth, but was replaced early in the second-half during a derby defeat to Fulham and will now spend up to a month on the treatment table.

WHAT THEY SAID: Asked for an update on Zakaria following Chelsea’s 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace, Blues boss Potter said: “Denis is going to be four weeks. The top of his quad. That’s a blow for us - hopefully he can be sooner.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Potter was then pressed on whether – with deals for Joao Felix and Mykhailo Mudryk already wrapped up – Chelsea may look to spend their way through injury problems. He added: “You can't just sign players to replace those who are injured because that creates a problem when they come back. So you have to look for the right solutions and they're not completely lined as you want because the January window is complicated. So I have to try to support the club and make their decisions, and help the team improve.”

IN THREE PHOTOS:

Getty Images

Getty

Getty

WHAT NEXT? Chelsea made a welcome return to winning ways against Palace, but they remain 10th in the Premier League table and have the likes of Raheem Sterling, N’Golo Kante, Reece James, Wesley Fofana, Ben Chilwell, Edouard Mendy, Armando Broja and Christian Pulisic currently ruled out through injury.