Chelsea injury news: Downbeat Conte provides Pedro update after ankle knock

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Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has insisted that he hopes Pedro’s injury isn’t too serious after he suffered an ankle problem against Arsenal on Sunday.

The Spaniard sustained the issue after a challenge from Nacho Monreal and while he battled on until half-time, he had to replaced by Tiemoue Bakayoko for the second half.

Having started all but two games of the six outings for Chelsea so far this season, there’s no denying that he forms an important part of Conte’s plans, but he now faces an anxious wait for further tests to determine whether or not Pedro will be sidelined.

“After the first half Pedro was a bit injured because he had a kick on his ankle and then I change it, tried to have more balance in the midfield,” he said, as reported by The Express.

“Pedro took a knock to his ankle and wasn’t 100 per cent fit. For this reason, I decided to make a substitution in the second half. We have to check with the doctor, but I hope this problem is not serious.”

Chelsea face Nottingham Forest in the League Cup in midweek, before travelling to Stoke City next weekend. While Conte would have arguably rotated his squad anyway for Forest, he’ll certainly hope that Pedro can recovery and be available for selection for their next Premier League outing.

Nevertheless, the Italian tactician does have quality and depth and so should be confident of coping without him, but Pedro has been key for him since arriving, scoring 13 goals and providing 12 assists in 43 appearances last season.

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