Mauricio Pochettino admits he is 'worried' by Christopher Nkunku's hip injury

Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino has admitted to being worried by the hip injury currently plaguing star forward Christopher Nkunku.

Nkunku missed the first four months of the season after suffering a knee injury in the summer, and he managed just four games back before picking up a hip injury in training which has kept him sidelined for the last two matches.

Reports initially suggested Nkunku's latest issue was a minor one which would require minimal time out of action, but the Frenchman is yet to return to training and Pochettino admitted he is unsure what is going on with Nkunku's fitness.

"I do worry about the situation of Nkunku," he admitted. "I think it's now [been] ten days he cannot train. We are assessing him. We don't know what's going to happen. I'm a little bit worried about the situation of Nkunku.

"I remember my press conference after this happened. It was a small issue and it complicated and it's been between eight and ten days [since he trained]. We were waiting for him for six months and he was so close again to feeling comfortable. He started the game against Palace and of course, disappointed with that. We want him as quick as possible to be involved again."

Chelsea host Fulham in the Premier League on Saturday looking to bounce back from a catastrophic 1-0 defeat to Middlesbrough in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final.

"I saw the players today and they were in really good spirits. Of course they are disappointed with the last game but that was the first 90 minutes. In ten or 12 days, we are going to play the second leg," Pochettino reflected.

"Yes, disappointed, but at the same time, too many things happen around us after the game. Of course, we are Chelsea and we cannot afford to lose these types of games. To be honest, if you play 100 times, maybe you lose one because it's football and it's not another sport. Maybe in another sport with the same situation, you have 100% chance to win. But that is football.

"Sometimes we can learn from being criticised and being tough. We need to feel the pressure because we need to grow. The feeling of pressure, it's about to realise to do good things."

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