Joao Felix could be thrown in at the deep end against Fulham on Thursday evening with Raheem Sterling said to be out for some time. The 28-year-old was replaced by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the opening minutes of Chelsea's Premier League clash with Manchester City.
Sterling fell to the floor with a grimace on his face after a collision with John Stones and has since undergone several scans on his hamstring. The England international was not named in the 18-man squad which travelled to the Etihad Stadium in the FA Cup third round on Sunday
According to The Athletic on Friday, a second scan was believed to have shown that his injury is worse than first feared. As it stands, Sterling is one of many players who are unavailable for selection due to injury which could leave Potter no choice but to hand Felix firs-team minutes just hours after completing his move from Atletico Madrid.
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Matt Law has reported that, despite no confirmation, the Chelsea winger is expected to be out for 'a few weeks' with a pulled hamstring. The Daily Telegraph correspondent stated that the Blues are planning to continuously assess him in the meantime.
With Sterling potentially out of action for a while, Felix could be handed the breakthrough he's so desperately waiting for. Speaking to the official Chelsea website, the 23-year-old said: "I’ll bring my football, my happiness on the game, and give a lot of fun to the fans.
"I don’t like to speak about me, but I would say I’m a player that wants to have the ball and play with happiness. I want to make all the fans enjoy my football and help the team."
Chelsea are expected to pay Atletico Madrid around £9million for the six-month loan signing of Felix, who has been watched on numerous occasions this season by the club's scouts. However, the Spanish giants did not want to include an option to buy in the contract.
Despite a number of injuries, it remains to be seen whether the Portuguese star can feature against Fulham on Thursday night, January 12. As per the Premier League regulations handbook, if Felix was to feature at Craven Cottage, he needed to be officially registered as a Chelsea player by 12pm on Wednesday afternoon.
The club statement from Chelsea announcing his arrival was put out at exactly 12pm which would indicate all the forms and applications had been signed in the morning. Kick-off vs Fulham is at 8pm and can be watched on BT Sports.
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