Enzo Maresca says Malo Gusto suffered a ‘not good’ muscle injury during Chelsea’s 2-1 Premier League win at Fulham on Sunday.
The Blues were on course for another disappointing result after Alex Iwobi gave Fulham the lead in the first-half at Craven Cottage.
But a late goal from Tyrique George – his first in the Premier League – levelled the score before Pedro Neto struck in the 93rd minute to bring the three points back to Stamford Bridge.
It’s a crucial victory for Chelsea in their pursuit of Champions League qualification, with the result moving them up to fifth in the table and level on points with Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa.
It was far from easy though and Maresca was forced to make a big change at half-time, subbing struggling captain Reece James off for Gusto.
Get personalised updates on Chelsea every day
Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro’s Football Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link we’ll send you so we can get football news tailored to you.
The full-back performed well but there were worrying scenes in the final few minutes when he pulled up and was forced to come off, with Tosin Adarabioyo taking his place.
Asked for an update on the Frenchman, Maresca praised his performance but was clearly worried about his injury, with just a handful of games in the season to go.
‘Not a good one. Unfortunately it looks like a muscular injury,’ the head coach said in his post-match press conference.
‘We started well in the first 20 minutes then we conceded a goal unfortunately and in a match that is must win, it’s not easy for the players,’ he told BBC Match of the Day.
‘It becomes more difficult but second-half, we also changed something tactically and it was much better. We were a little bit more dynamic with Malo Gusto inside.
‘He is doing this fantastically for us since day one and second half we were much better.’
Chelsea have just five Premier League games to go, including tough matches against top-five rivals Newcastle and Nottingham Forest and soon to be champions Liverpool.
They also have the semi-finals of the Conference League against Swedish side Djurgarden, ahead of a potential final in Wroclaw, Poland on May 28.
Additionally, Maresca revealed that James’ withdrawal at half-time was pre-planned and not tactical or the result of injury.
‘He played 90 minutes two days ago and played 45 today,’ the Italian added.
‘It’s an important moment because we can start playing him every three days. The reason why we changed him was because he played 90 minutes a few days ago.’
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.