Christian Nkunku facing another month on the sidelines after fresh Chelsea injury blow as Mauricio Pochettino admits he's 'not the same player as before'

The French attacker is undergoing a medical assessment at the club due to an unknown injury problem and Pochettino has confirmed that he is facing up to a month on the sidelines. The Chelsea boss also admitted that the 26-year-old is no longer the player he used to be at RB Leipzig.

Speaking to reporters, the Argentine coach said: "We learned yesterday Nkunku got injured but we don’t know when he got injured. We need to see and evaluate every day but he's out for three or four weeks. We hope no more. It’s difficult for him. We watched him when he arrived in pre-season.

"He was flying on the training pitch until he got injured. Now it is nearly eight months and he has been involved again but he is not the same player as before. We have in our head the amazing Nkunku from pre-season but it is not the same player because of the circumstances. That’s why it is sometimes unfair when we judge."

Nkunku suffered a knee injury during the club's pre-season tour which forced him to miss the first half of the 2023-24 campaign. Upon returning to action, Nkunku scored his maiden Chelsea goal in the club's 2-1 defeat to Wolves on December 24. He has featured in 10 matches across all competitions for the Blues to date, clocking 394 minutes on the pitch and scoring two goals, with his last outing coming from the bench in the Blues' Carabao Cup final defeat to Liverpool.

The Blues will be next seen in action in the FA Cup on Wednesday as they are set to take on Leeds United in an FA Cup fifth-round clash. Nkunku will definitely sit out that tie and a trip to Brentford in the Premier League three days later as Pochettino awaits a proper diagnosis on the forward's latest injury.