Liam Rosenior issues fitness update on three key Chelsea stars ahead of Arsenal clash

Chelsea took care of business in Liam Rosenior’s first game on Saturday, thrashing London rivals Charlton Athletic at The Valley in the FA Cup third round. Jorrel Hato opened the scoring and Tosin Adarabioyo became the second defender to find the net.

Marc Guiu, Pedro Neto and Enzo Fernandez added the rest of the goals after Miles Leaburn had made it 2-1for all of five minutes. It was a comfortable evening for the Blues, and one Rosenior was able to enjoy as he made his debut in charge of Chelsea.

But Rosenior did have to do without three players, with Malo Gusto, Cole Palmer and Reece James all missing out through injury. But in good news for Chelsea, Rosenior confirmed that all three are still in pretty good shape and should be in line to return for the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg clash with Arsenal.

“Malo, Cole and Reece were precautionary today. I don't want to take any risks at this stage of the season,” said the new Chelsea boss.

“They had minor tweaks or knocks from the Fulham game. And I feel like I've got such a good squad here. I don't need to risk their health at the moment. We have a huge game on Wednesday. We have a huge game on Saturday [against Brentford]. And I'll check the medical reports tonight and tomorrow morning and see how they are then.”

Rosenior delighted with fast start

This was game Chelsea were always expected to win, but it does give Rosenior the chance to get off on the right foot, and there was, of course, a chance he could have started in the worst possible way had there been an upset.

“I was very happy with the attitude of the team, even in the first-half. This is not an easy place to come, third round of the FA Cup,” he added.

“I felt our press was very intense and really good. I felt we controlled the game, created a couple of chances from outside the box. The goal came at a really good time. It was a fantastic finish from Hato. The game opens up second-half…we know we have outstanding players. I was able to bring on some outstanding players from the bench. But I have to say I was delighted with the starting XI too.”

Rosenior continued: “I believe in this group. I believe in all of them. And if we want to have a really strong season, we need to use them (all). I need to put faith into them, and they repaid my faith today. And they've given me real cause for optimism for the future.”

Chelsea now turn their attention to that cup game ahead of facing Brentford in the Premier League and Pafos in the Champions League.

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