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.”

---

Nathan Ake's injury-time goal for Bournemouth left nine-man Tottenham's Champions League hopes in doubt on Saturday. Heung-Min Son and Juan Foyth were shown red cards on either side of half-time by referee Craig Pawson.
Bournemouth 1-0 Tottenham highlights: Nine-man Spurs suffer

---

Manchester United transfer news: Red Devils preparing £

---

Transfer news and football gossip: Manchester United

---

Chelsea vs Arsenal line-ups: Confirmed team news and predicted XIs for Europa League Final 2019 Speculation persists that Cech could return to the Blues, with whom he won 17 major honours in
Chelsea team news vs Fulham: Predicted line up - will Eden

---

Barcelona vs Tottenham: The Manchester clubs have made it to the round of 16 & the pressure is on Tottenham & Liverpool to advance through. While Liverpool take on a stern Napoli, Tottenham go up against the 5-time champions, Barcelona.
Tottenham Hotspur vs Liverpool Preview: Probable Lineups

---

Boss Brock Braun Strowman was replaced by Finn Balor in the Universal title match with Brock Lesnar at the Royal Rumble on Raw Until the past edition of Monday Night Raw, WWE fans thought they were getting Brock Lesnar and Braun Strowman, one-on-one for the Universal title, for the third time at the Royal Rumble.
From the west coast to west London but will Ryan Babel ever

---

Gary Neville's reaction to Wednesday night's Manchester derby might come as fearful news for Man Utd fans, with the ex-full-back of the opinion that those currently turning out for his former side

---

Atletico fans targeted Thibaut Courtois with toy rats ahead of Madrid derby - Supporters of Atletico Madrid this evening took aim at Real Madrid shot-stopper Thibaut Courtois in rather bizarre fashion, ahead of the Madrid derby - February 9th, 2019
Atletico fans targeted Thibaut Courtois with toy rats ahead

---

Barcelona set to wear 90s-inspired retro shirt as worn by Rivaldo and Luis Figo in Clasico with Real Madrid as they mark 20 years with Nike. Barcelona will reportedly wear a retro special edition kit against Real Madrid
Barcelona to debut new kit against Real Madrid in El-Clasico

---

Here, we've rated every kit for next season released or leaked so far. Read More. Premier League release details of payments made to clubs including Arsenal, Chelsea and Spurs; Arsenal. Home kit: After a disappointing few years with Puma, Arsenal are back in style with Adidas - who have set the bar for the coming years very high. The famous
Premier League team of the season so far | Goal.com

---

Fantasy Football Tips: Five to buy, five to dodge and who to captain for midweek matches WHO should you transfer in and out of your Fantasy Premier League team ahead of Gameweek 17? By James Phillips
Fantasy Premier League tips: Transfer advice for Gameweek 32

---

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp questions aggressive Burnley tackling after Joe Gomez is injured in comeback victory The Liverpool defender was stretchered off with a nasty ankle injury during the
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp questions aggressive Burnley

---

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain return as it happened - Liverpool U23s in action against Derby as midfielder comes off after 41 minutes. Oxlade-Chamberlain makes his long-awaited return from injury for
Oxlade-Chamberlain set for Liverpool return - Liverpool FC

---

Celtic must respond to rival Rangers' big marker after signing Jermain Defoe. The Englishman will join the Gers on an 18-month loan deal from AFC Bournemouth, according to Sky Sports. The Hoops are yet to announce a player on any deal, a few days into the window.
Celtic fans react to reports of Jermain Defoe joining Rangers

---

Manchester United have offered a new deal to Juan Mata as Ander Herrera and Antonio Valencia head the list of players leaving the club.. Mata, who joined from Chelsea in January 2014, has been
Report: Valencia wants to leave Man United - ProSoccerTalk

---