Chelsea dealt fresh Christopher Nkunku injury blow as Mauricio Pochettino reveals hip problem suffered in training

The French forward was not involved in any capacity as the Blues progressed to the fourth round of the FA Cup with a 4-0 win against the Championship club at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. Regarding this absence, Pochettino confirmed that the Frenchman has been dealt a fresh injury blow.

"It's really tough, I think you empathise with us. The circumstances are really tough. Sometimes it is difficult to explain to you and you to translate to our fans," he said in a press conference. "Nkunku, we don't want to put pressure on him. We know it is difficult after a long time injured. Six months away, like now he wasn't involved because he suffered after training a problem in his hip and we need to see if he can be ready for the next few games. They need to play also to get the best and we cannot provide this gametime to players that need to go and feel competition because we need to win. Sometimes it's really tough to explain to the players who feel the pressure to perform and to play. Sometimes it is difficult to explain but if you understand football you realize how tough it is."

The latest injury will come as a huge concern for Nkunku and Chelsea. The France international has had a rough start to life at Chelsea since joining from RB Leipzig in the summer transfer window. He missed the start of the season with a knee injury he sustained during pre-season and did not make his debut until December 24. He has only featured four times for the Blues.

The London side will hope to have Nkunku back in the near future, with Pochettino's team set to take on Middlesbrough in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday. The Argentine is already without nine other first team stars through injury, so will pray Nkunku's absence isn't a lengthy one.