Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino has confirmed that Robert Sanchez will not be available to face Sheffield United on Saturday.
The Spaniard was replaced after 83 minutes of Chelsea’s 2-0 defeat to Everton at Goodison Park having picked up a knee injury.
Summer signing Djordje Petrovic came off the bench to make his Premier League debut, and Pochettino confirmed in his pre-match media duties that Sanchez’s issue is severe enough for him to miss out on facing Sheffield United, who prop up the Premier League table despite picking up their first win under Chris Wilder last time out.
“We lost our number one keeper so far, always it’s a player you are going to miss. We have other keepers who are working hard to be ready, when this type of thing happens,” Pochettino told reporters.
“It’s very sad because we are going to lose a player for maybe a few weeks and we’re still waiting to see perfectly the situation with Robert and also with Reece [James] and Marc Cucurella.
“From the beginning, we’ve been hit with different circumstances, this one is an important circumstance but we need to be strong because the competition doesn’t stop and we need to be ready to go.”
Probed on Petrovic coming into the side and whether he’s up to the task, the Argentine said of his confidence: “Of course [I have faith in him]. I have faith in all my players. He arrived to Chelsea because he has potential.
“Of course he’s young and came from different football, but now after four or five months working with us it’s the moment for him to step up and feel good because we have the confidence in him, we trust him, his teammates trust in him and it’s time for debut at Stamford Bridge. We trust in him to perform in the way we want.”
