Chelsea are presently leading the Premier League with eight points and are strong favourites to win the title. Obviously this hasn’t come on a platter of gold; there has been a change in tactics, approach and strategies as well as players’ delivery which in turn has yielded positive outcomes.
Antonio Conte has been able to bring out the best in his players and has been commended many times for this. He has been able to get his first team right and this has also helped to catapult them to the top of the table from their eighth position back in September.
They have also been lucky with injury this season; however the latest injury scare may affect their title push. David Luiz is obviously nursing an injury as his right knee was heavily bandaged and was seen limping in the match against Burnley.
The centre-back has been incredible at the heart of defence for Chelsea since the switch to 3-4-3 formation and a loss of him could cost the Blues. The Brazilian defender suffered the injury following a horror tackle from Sergio Aguero earlier this year and it appears he has been playing through pain since then.
And despite limping in their clash against Burnley, Conte refused to replace Luiz for reason best known to him, probably he didn’t trust his back-up options enough. The defender posted a picture of himself in a hospital gown and could miss the FA Cup match.
Of course Conte wouldn’t want to lose the gap in the standings and this is not the right time for Chelsea to relinquish their top spot in the league. But playing an injured player will aggravate the injury and it is clear that he need one or two matches off to fully recover well.