Chelsea’s Dário Essugo hit by another cruel injury blow | OneFootball

Essugo is sidelined again (Getty Images)

Portuguese midfielder Dário Egguso’s long wait for his Premier League debut with Chelsea has been prolonged, after the former Sporting man suffered another injury setback in training.

Essugo has not played a competitive match for the Blues since last summer’s brief substitute appearances at the FIFA Club World Cup, which the English club won, lifting the inaugural expanded version of the tournament in the United States.

The 20-year-old then began the season on the substitutes bench for Chelsea, but a serious thigh injury sustained in September ruled Essugo out of the first half of the campaign. Having returned to recent Chelsea squads, taking a place on the bench for the FA Cup win at Charlton Athletic and the Carabao Cup loss to Arsenal, the midfielder has experienced a harsh setback.

“Unfortunately, Dario picked up a really unfortunate injury,” Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior said on Friday. “He slipped in training. And he’s going to be out for a while, over a month. Which is a shame because he’s a really outstanding player that I was really looking forward to working with.”

Essugo was announced as a Chelsea player last March alongside compatriot Geovany Quenda, with the pair arriving at Stamford Bridge from Sporting for a combined transfer fee of €74.4m. Quenda’s transfer sees him arrive in the English capital this summer in a €50.7m deal – his switch covering the majority of the double-deal’s outlay.

Chelsea travel to Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon, hoping to kick-start their bid for Champions League qualification in what looks set to be a close-fought race for European places this season in well-balanced Premier League.

By Sean Gillen