Chelsea are expecting Nicolas Jackson’s hamstring injury to keep him out until April.
The forward picked up the problem in the 2-1 victory against West Ham United on February 3 and his absence leaves head coach Enzo Maresca with a dearth of options up front.
The club had hoped Jackson’s injury would not be too problematic as fellow striker Marc Guiu suffered a leg abductor injury in the West Ham match. The 19-year-old is expected to be out for “weeks or months”, Maresca said in a press conference last week.
Jackson, who has shared images from his recovery on in Instagram account (see below), is Chelsea’s second-top scorer in the Premier League this season with nine goals from 23 matches, behind Cole Palmer who has 14 goals. Guiu has scored six goals this season but all have come in the UEFA Conference League.
Without Jackson or Guiu available for the FA Cup fourth-round tie against Brighton on Saturday, Maresca fielded Christopher Nkunku up front in the 2-1 defeat at the Amex Stadium. Nkunku has scored five goals in the Conference League this season, but he has started only three Premier League matches, scoring twice.
Speaking before the Brighton tie, and asked if he was confident he has enough cover in forward areas, Maresca said: “Yes, absolutely. Before the last game, we had two strikers, Nico and Marc. Sometimes we adapt, also Christo (Nkunku) there, but in case both of them are out we are going to find a different solution.”
Chelsea are next in action away again against Brighton on Friday in the Premier League before a visit to Aston Villa, then home matches against Southampton and Leicester City.
‘A huge loss for Maresca’
Analysis by Liam Twomey
Anyone who has watched Chelsea in the last two months has seen an attack struggling to fire around Palmer. Jackson has been a big part of that problem, failing to score in his last eight Premier League appearances.
But this is a huge loss for Maresca. The only other No 9 in the first-team squad is Guiu, a very raw teenager signed from Barcelona last summer who is also sidelined by injury.
Even when fit, he has not looked ready to lead Chelsea’s attack in the manner that Jackson consistently does, regardless of whether or not he is converting his chances.
Jackson does a lot in and out of possession, pressing opponents relentlessly and stretching games with his willingness to make incisive runs behind opposing defences and into the channels. He also links play at a very high level, and his formidable chemistry with Palmer makes both of them more dangerous.
Without him and Guiu, Maresca will be forced to get creative with his selection and tactics. That need manifested in a dual false nine experiment featuring Palmer and Nkunku that failed miserably against Brighton in the FA Cup on Saturday.
“Sometimes I think you need to play games without players to realise how important they are,” Maresca said of Jackson in his press conference after the Brighton loss. Chelsea will have plenty more moments to reckon with that realisation in the coming weeks.
(Top photo: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
