Raheem Sterling was forced to leave the game against Man City due to a hamstring injury and had to be replaced.
After just lasting five minutes in his first Premier League reunion with former team Manchester City after departing in the summer, Raheem Sterling cut a dejected figure. This game was his first in the league since he left the club in the summer.
The Chelsea forward pulled up with a hamstring injury in the opening stages of the encounter at Stamford Bridge, and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was required to replace him because of the injury.
Sterling had gone down at the end of the pitch where the City supporters are housed, and as he walked toward the tunnel behind the goal he was greeted warmly by the appreciative traveling fans. A very small number of these fans had booed him when his name was read out before kick-off. Sterling had gone down at the end of the pitch where the City supporters are housed.
When Sterling finally arrived at the tunnel, the expression of agony and exasperation on his face was plain to see. In response to an inquiry about how he was doing, he offered a small shake of the head.
Graham Potter, the manager for Arsenal, decided to substitute Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for England’s star player, Sterling, and Sterling appeared dejected as he walked directly down the tunnel and into the locker room.
It was not going to be the only change that the former Brighton manager was going to have to make in the first period either, as he was going to lose Christian Pulisic in the 22nd minute when the USA international also pulled up injured after trying to carry on following a challenge from John Stones. Christian Pulisic had tried to continue playing despite his injury.
Carney Chukwuemeka, a former Aston Villa starlet who is currently 19 years old, came off the bench and assumed a position on the left side of the attack when it became obvious that Pulisic would not be able to continue playing. This decision was made by the manager of the Blues after a lengthy discussion with his players’ trainers.
These injuries come at a time when Chelsea are already without numerous first-team talents, including Edouard Mendy, Ben Chilwell, Reece James, Wesley Fofana, N’Golo Kante, Mason Mount, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, and Armando Broja. Potter has decided to start three of his younger players, Bashir Humphreys, Omari Hutchinson, and Lewis Hall, on the bench for the upcoming match.
Mount’s absence from the matchday squad came as a complete and total shock to Potter, who talks about Mount’s injury before the game.
He said, “He had a kick in training yesterday” (which took place on Wednesday).
“They say that when it rains, it pours, but that’s not true. Cheers to the New Year!
“As a football manager, your life is pretty much guaranteed to be like that. Because of this, your consistency suffers.
“It would be good if each game could have 11 people participating in it. But if you have games every Saturday and Tuesday and Saturday and Tuesday after that, you shouldn’t expect that to occur. You are going to have to readjust.”