Brightonvs.Chelsea

Maresca confirmed on Thursday morning that the Senegal international would be sidelined with a hamstring injury until after the March international break.

With Marc Guiu also in the treatment room with an adductor injury, Chelsea are seemingly left with Nkunku to hold the fort down the middle of the attack.

That comes at a time when the France international has accumulated just 449 minutes of Premier League football this season, mainly being used in cup competitions.

Having rarely started two games in a row for Chelsea during 2024-25, Nkunku may now have to be deployed across a run of matches over the next month.

Is Nkunku a certain starter?

Speaking at a press conference, Maresca admitted that Nkunku remains "a very important player", yet he insisted that other players can help fill the void left by Jackson.

As quoted by football.london, the Italian said: "Christo can be one of the solutions but he is not the only solution.

"We will try to find different solutions. I've said many times: I consider Christo a very important player since we started. The problem is they think they are only important if they play, if they don't play they don't feel like they are important.

"Now, also, with the transfer window closed, everyone is here. He can try and help us until the end."

He added: "We are working, because of the Nico and Marc situation, we are trying to find different solutions. That can be Christo because he played the last game, or it can be different kind of players.

"If you don't have a proper nine, who can be a threat always, you have to change not only the nine but also a bit the way you want to play."

What are the alternatives?

The obvious alternative to using Nkunku is moving Cole Palmer into a similar position, even deploying Nkunku in a deeper role.

Maresca may also choose to try one of several wingers down the centre, while Deivid Washington is yet to complete a loan switch to Santos and may now stay at Stamford Bridge.

Shim Mheuka - who is 17 years of age and made his senior debut in the Conference League before Christmas - could also come into contention.

Written by

Darren Plant