Chelsea have defensive crisis ahead of Europa League match with Eintracht Frankfurt with just two central defenders fit

Chelsea have defensive crisis ahead of Europa League match with Eintracht Frankfurt with just two central defenders fit
Chelsea are suffering a defensive crisis ahead of their Europa League semi-final first leg at Eintracht Frankfurt.Maurizio Sarri admitted his side were in trouble as Gary Cahill is out with an Achilles injury.The Blues are left with just two fit central defenders, in David Luiz and Andreas Christensen, with Antonio Rudiger sidelined for three months after knee surgery.Getty3

Maurizio Sarri has just two fit centre backs

“Gary Cahill has an Achilles tendon injury,” said Sarri. “We hope to recover him in one week.“So we are in trouble with the centre-backs. For the last two trainings we played with Azpilicueta at centre-back. So we are in trouble.“We’ve played 58 matches so injuries are typical. We were lucky previously but not in the last 10 days.”3

Gary Cahill is the latest Chelsea player to suffer an injury

Chelsea skipper Cesar Azpilicueta insisted he is ready to step in at centre-back if required.“I’m ready to play wherever the manager needs me to play,” said Azpilicueta. “But I can adapt to different positions. So I’m ready for it.”Sarri explained that Germany international Rudiger will be sidelined for three months after surgery to repair the meniscus in his knee.Rudiger actually tore his meniscus in the Blues’ 2-0 Premier League loss at Liverpool on April 14.Getty3

Antonio Rudiger will be out for around three months

He battled to play through the problem until the end of the season, with the club aware he would need surgery but also knowing he could not exacerbate the injury.The 26-year-old returned to action for Sunday’s trip to Manchester United only to pull up again.“Rudiger is out for at least three months I think,” said Sarri. “He’s upset of course but is very strong and I’m sure he will come back stronger.“We tried to arrive at the end of the season, but the injury was there. He had a problem with his meniscus, it was broken.“We tried to arrive to the end of the season, because sometimes you are able to play for one month (with the injury). But the situation was the same.” Sarri has every confidence in Denmark defender Christensen stepping up at the denouement of Chelsea’s quest for Champions League qualification.“Christensen during the season has played about 25 matches, so he is ready,” said Sarri.“I hope he will be very fresh, mentally and physically. But I am sure he is ready to play in every match. It’s not a problem. The problem is only the number, because we have only two fit centre-backs.“But I’m really very confident with Andreas because he’s ready. He’s played very important matches very well, so Christensen is not a problem for us, the problem is the number at the moment.”

---

'He scored quite a few nice goals, so that was encouraging': Ole Gunnar Solskjaer impressed by Alexis Sanchez in training as Manchester United star closes in on comeback appearance
Manchester United predicted XI vs Chelsea

---

DANIEL LEVY will not let Mauricio Pochettino move to Manchester United — even for £50million. The Tottenham chairman has made it clear to his board he plans to reject any Old Trafford approach
Mauricio Pochettino 'won't be allowed to join Man Utd - not

---

Chelsea striker Gonzalo Higuain goals were announced in style

---

Watch fuming Ronaldo blast Allegri as his frustration at Juventus team-mates boils over. Cristiano Ronaldo blasted his manager Massimiliano Allegri during Juventus's narrow win over Napoli on
News list for cristiano ronaldo trains with new juventus team

---

The LA Galaxy unveiled a statue of former star David Beckham outside their home stadium. (Associated Press) David Beckham's 2007 arrival to the Los Angeles Galaxy signaled a sea change. A
David Beckham statue: LA Galaxy unveil tribute to ex-star

---

Tottenham unveil plans to play at new stadium before Champions League quarter-final With two test events in place for the redeveloped White Hart Lane, Spurs have been able to plan potential dates

---

Napoli vs Arsenal: How to listen. Full coverage from Italy will be live on talkSPORT 2, with our programme getting underway at 6pm. Jim Proudfoot and Ray Houghton will bring you the build-up and commentary and to tune just click here for the live stream or click the radio player below.

---

Sarri: If Hazard wants to leave, he has to go • Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri has said Eden Hazard is free to leave the club if he wants to but the Italian hopes the forward stays at Stamford Bridge. • Sports • One News Page: Wednesday, 30 January 2019

---

Transfer news, rumours and today's football gossip | January 22, 2019. Tottenham are willing to sell Vincent Janssen for a knockdown £15m this month, reports the Daily Mail. Arsenal have made contact with Real Madrid over a potential loan deal for James Rodriguez, reports The Independent.
Transfer news, rumors LIVE: Chelsea, Man Utd, Arsenal

---

Declan Rice and Mark Noble struck as West Ham sealed a comfortable victory over Newcastle at the London Stadium. Rice opened the scoring in the eig / West Ham joint chairman David Gold has backed Declan Rice to become England captain in the future, believing the Three Lions' latest debutant can be the new Bobby Moore.
West Ham fans will love what Declan Rice said about Spurs

---

'Mohamed Salah went to a better drama school than me!' - Vinnie Jones on Liverpool star's 'dive' against Cardiff Vinnie Jones has joked Liverpool star Mohamed Salah is a better actor than he is after the Egyptian's 'dive' against Cardiff City. Bluebirds boss Neil talkSPORT 1 week ago
Cardiff 0-2 Liverpool: Watch Mohamed Salah's frustrated

---

Arsenal striker Danny Welbeck has had two successful operations to repair his broken ankle, the club have confirmed. Welbeck, 27, is set for an extended period on the sidelines after suffering a
Arsenal news: Danny Welbeck delivers injury update after

---

Anthony Martial transfer: The reason Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will NOT be able to sell Manchester United misfit this summer Solskjaer is said to be keen on cutting Martial from his squad, but he'll be
Anthony Martial transfer: The reason Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

---

Jose Mourinho sacked: How long did the ex-Chelsea boss last at Man United, what was his record, and did he win any trophies? That might be slightly better than David Moyes and van Gaal, but
Manchester United SACK Louis van Gaal with Jose Mourinho set

---