Chelsea defender Kadeisha Buchanan is set to join fellow centre-back Millie Bright on the injury list ahead of the Blues’ FA Cup semi-final clash against Aston Villa on Sunday, but manager Emma Hayes maintained that her squad is more than equipped to handle such disruptions as they continue their hunt for silverware.
The reigning league champions have been without defensive stalwart Bright since last month's Champions League quarter-final, first leg win over Lyon in which the 29-year-old suffered a knee injury.
And the Blues must weather another blow to their defensive ranks as Buchanan has been ruled out of the weekend’s semi-final after sustaining an injury while away on international duty with Canada, with Hayes forced to admit she has no timeline for the 27-year-old’s return.
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The news arrives just as Chelsea are cresting into a formidable fixture run as they face successive semi-finals in the FA Women’s Cup and Champions League. Chelsea sit second in the league table behind Manchester United with a game in hand.
Nevertheless, Hayes’ remained bullish in her assessment of her enviable squad depth, maintaining that the injury gives opportunity to the talent on the bench eager to stake a claim on the team sheet.
‘Nothing changes because of that [injury],” Hayes said on Friday in the build-up to the weekend’s clash. “We build a squad to prepare for these moments and players want this responsibility. There are players across our squad who want the opportunities, they want to continue to impress and the reality is we are a team full of international players, so we have the qualities to cope.”
Barring Buchanan and Bright, Hayes stated she has a particularly “fresh” squad after the international break. She made no comment on striking talisman Sam Kerr, who was subbed off early in her sensational display in Australia’s 2-0 win over England, albeit Kerr maintained that both Chelsea and the Matildas were monitoring her minutes.
Aston Villa are a familiar opponent for Chelsea, who defeated the Villains 3-0 away from home in their Women’s Super League fixture just before the international break. Goals from Guro Reiten, Jelena Cankovic and Kerr sealed the victory.
Still, Hayes did not write off Sunday’s opponents, instead insisting that she expects a “tougher match” than that from two weeks ago, particularly with Villa's home advantage and the latent drama engendered from a Cup match.
“I think Villa will be disappointed about their performance and I’d expect an aggressive Villa performance at home with a packed crowd,” Hayes said. “I think it will be a much different game, I think it will be a difficult game, anything can happen.
“There’s a Cup final on the line and we will be prepared as we always are knowing at the end of the game we want to be going to Wembley.”
Hayes underlined the importance of executing the fundamentals against Villa. Whether the absences of key defenders Buchanan and Bright will prove advantageous for England international Rachel Daly, who is the second top goalscorer in the WSL and FA Cup behind Manchester City’s Khadija Shaw, remains to be seen.
Chelsea’s FA Cup semi-final clash against Aston Villa kick-offs at 2:15pm on Sunday.
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