Mauricio Pochettino is hopeful Christopher Nkunku’s injury is “not a big issue” after the Chelsea star came off hurt in the draw against Borussia Dortmund.
The Blues ended their US tour unbeaten with a 1-1 draw thanks to Mason Burstow’s equaliser at Soldier Field in Chicago.
But Chelsea suffered a blow when Nkunku, a £51.6 million signing from Leipzig this summer, was substituted after 22 minutes for Mykhailo Mudryk after sustaining a knee injury.
But Pochettino, whose side begin their Premier League campaign next Sunday against Liverpool at Stamford Bridge, is hopeful the injury is not severe.
“The doctors are checking him and I hope it is not a big issue,” Pochettino said. “He fell in the action which was maybe a penalty and he feels something in his knee but we hope it is nothing big,’ Pochettino confirmed.
“We hope he can be back quickly with the team. We need a few days to assess him.”
The pitch for the pre-season friendly has come in for some criticism, with Soldier Field mostly used by NFL team Chicago Bears, while it was also recently used for an Ed Sheeran concert.
But Pochettino refused to blame the playing surface as a factor in Nkunku’s injury, adding: “We took some risks because the pitch is not perfect because the facilities are used for a different sport. We won’t blame the pitch for the injury though. For me, it was bad luck.”
There was more optimism for Chelsea when a fan was filmed asking Nkunku after the match if he was okay, with the French forward replying that he was.
