believes will be out for ‘a few weeks’ due to a hamstring injury.
’s £52 million signing was brought on as a substitute in the second half of .
However, he missed Chelsea’s win over Leeds United in the FA Cup on Wednesday evening due to his latest injury setback.
Nkunku has now been ruled out of Chelsea’s trip to Brentford on Saturday and Pochettino admits the 26-year-old has endured a ‘difficult’ debut season at Stamford Bridge due to his injury issues.
‘He suffered a problem in his hamstring, now we’ll see in a few weeks if he can be available,’ Pochettino said on Friday.
‘Now he’s doing recovery from Sunday, a little bit unlucky, bad luck, because he’s suffered a setback again from another injury I think is always tough for a player who hasn’t played much during the season and that also came from the Bundesliga with some problems.
‘Because he was so good in , I think it’s a difficult season for him, it’s difficult to accept another injury and a delay to play more consistently.
‘I want to say bad luck because I don’t have the information and knowledge about medicine and why these types of injuries happen. I’m going to say bad luck because I don’t have another thing to say.’
Pochettino also confirmed that Wesley Fofana is unlikely to return for Chelsea before the end of the season.
Fofana, who joined Chelsea in a £75 million deal from Leicester City in August 2022, is yet to make an appearance this term after undergoing anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction surgery last July.
‘Unfortunately, I think no,’ Pochettino said.
‘Difficult to see him [play again this season], but you never know.’
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