More injury strife for Chelsea as Drogba has groin surgery
Published:Chelsea’s pre-season preparations have suffered yet another blow, with Didier Drogba undergoing a groin operation which looks like ruling him out of the start of the season.
The striker will be the third key player missing for Chelsea when they kick off their Premier League campaign with a home tie against West Brom, which they are 1/8 to win.
Goalkeeper Petr Cech and central defender Alex are already out with injury, and 13/8 title contenders Chelsea can ill afford to lose any more players as they prepare to defend their crown.
The 31-year-old striker Drogba is expected to return to full training in about three weeks, following surgery which will be, according to a club statement, “minimally invasive”.
Such an absence would rule the Ivory Coast captain out of Chelsea’s Community Shield match against Manchester United on August 8th, as well as the West Brom fixture.
Drogba’s team-mates, meanwhile, endured a torrid time at the Amsterdam Arena, as they slumped to a 3-1 defeat in a friendly match against Ajax.
A terrible misjudgement from stand-in goalkeeper Ross Turnbull gifted Ajax their second goal, and raised concerns that Chelsea do not have sufficient strength in depth in goal.
Chelsea are 6/1 to win their first Champions League this season, but if they are to realise such ambitions, they may need to make another signing or two to ensure that the entire squad is of a high enough calibre to win Europe’s premier prize.
How big a loss could Drogba be for Chelsea? They are 13/8 to win the title. See the full Premier League market.
