Chelsea have been hit with a new injury worry after Jamie Gittens was forced off during England Under-21s’ match on Friday night.
Gittens, who arrived at Stamford Bridge from Borussia Dortmund over the summer, started for the Young Lions as they maintained their perfect UEFA U21 European Championship qualifying run with a 2–0 win over the Republic of Ireland in heavy rain at St Andrew’s.
However, his match was cut short shortly after the hour mark.
The winger appeared to suffer the injury while attempting to evade a challenge from Ireland’s left-back James McManus inside the penalty area. Clearly in discomfort, the 21-year-old immediately made his way down the tunnel after being substituted for Fulham’s Joshua King.
The severity of the problem has yet to be determined, and England U21s are preparing to face Slovakia on Tuesday — a game that could send Lee Carsley’s side to the top of Group D if they claim all three points.
Although not a regular starter under Enzo Maresca, Gittens has still made 14 appearances for Chelsea this season in all competitions, producing one goal and three assists.
Chelsea face an important stretch of fixtures after the international break, beginning with a Premier League clash against Burnley before hosting both Barcelona and Arsenal at Stamford Bridge.
Maresca has been dealing with a shortage of attacking players in recent weeks, but remains hopeful that Cole Palmer will soon return from a groin injury.
Elsewhere on Friday, several other Chelsea youngsters impressed for England U21s: Josh Acheampong contributed to another clean sheet, Tyrique George scored deep into stoppage time to wrap up the victory, and Divin Mubama opened the scoring from the penalty spot after missing an earlier one.
