Chelsea have advanced to the quarter-finals of the Club World Cup but appear to have lost a player to injury following the 4-1 win over Benfica.
The Blues were cruising to victory on Saturday night after Reece James put them ahead with a sublime free-kick, only for the game to be suspended in the 86th minute due to adverse weather conditions.
After a two-hour delay the match resumed, only for Benfica to win a last minute penalty which Angel di Maria converted to send the match to extra-time.
But after Gianluca Prestianni was sent off, Chelsea ran riot with goals from Christopher Nkunku, Pedro Neto and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall securing the win.
They’ll face Brazilian side Palmeiras in the last-eight but will have to do so without Benoit Badiashile who appears to have picked up a nasty injury.
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The centre-back was subbed off after 70 minutes after going down seemingly with cramp and was replaced by Tosin Adarabioyo.
However, as players left the Bank of America stadium in Charlotte, Badiashile was pictured on crutches, suggesting a more serious injury has occurred.
The 24-year-old has missed 40 games through injury since moving to Stamford Bridge in 2023 for around £32m, with his future at the club uncertain.
While Enzo Maresca likes the defender, reports from France claim that Marseille are interested in signing him this summer but this injury could now scupper any transfer plans.
Weather conditions in America, including severe thunderstorms and extreme heat, have been constant issues at the Club World Cup, with Chelsea vs Benfica the sixth match to be halted because of it.
Players and managers have also criticised the poor condition of the pitches, while Maresca unleashed a furious rant following Saturday’s game that didn’t finish until the early hours of Sunday morning.
‘The game was very good for 85 minutes. Then we had an hour and a half, two-hour stop,’ the head coach fumed.
‘Then it started completely different. It’s not the same game. It’s not the same game because you break the tempo.
‘So two hours inside; people speak with the family outside, if they were good, the security. People eating, people laughing, people talking on the mobile. It’s two hours. That’s why I said it’s not football.
‘It’s something that you struggle to understand. But we tried to go out, continue in the same way, knowing that it was difficult.
‘It’s not random that for 85 minutes, we didn’t concede nothing and then for five minutes, we conceded a few chances. Why? It’s because it started a completely different game. It’s not normal. It’s not football.’
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