The 4 Chelsea players who could benefit with starts today with 13 squad members missing or limited | OneFootball

It’s Saturday and we’re delighted. Chelsea are in action after a long two week international break that we couldn’t wait to see the back of.

But it’s been a tough fortnight for more than just us. The already mounting injury problems at Chelsea have got that much worse after a punishing period.

Chelsea potentially down 13 players after tough international break

Marc Guiu leads the line for Sunderland. (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)

We’re totting up how many players could be missing or only available in a limited capacity for today’s game, and the numbers are crazy.

Some players are just flat out injured – Dario Essugo, Liam Delap, Levi Colwill.

Others have been injured and might not yet be ready for starts – Benoit Badiashile, Romeo Lavia, Cole Palmer, Wesley Fofana.

Then a third group have had punishing international breaks and might not be risked, at least as starters – Andrey Santos, Estevao Willian, Joao Pedro, Reece James, Marc Cucurella, Moises Caicedo.

That’s 13 players who are absent or limited in some capacity.

The players set to benefit from depleted Chelsea squad

So who is going to step up in this situation? One player who will benefit is Marc Guiu, recalled from Sunderland before the deadline. He’s bound to pick up his first minutes of the season for us today, perhaps even as a starter if Joao Pedro is considered in the danger zone.

Jamie Gittens started the first game of the season and then dropped out – he will be back today as Maresca looks to shake things up. Jorrel Hato, after waiting 3 games in the league, surely starts today in place of Cucurella, who needs a break.

Tyrique George is only at the club because his £22m move to Fulham fell though on deadline day. Yet he too could be picking up minutes today, just a couple of weeks after he could have been moving across town.