Tosin Absence Deepens Chelsea’s Centre-Back Shortage Ahead of Season Opener

Enzo Maresca has warned that recent defensive setbacks leave Chelsea without a suitable ball-playing centre-back for the season opener.

Overview

Levi Colwill’s ACL tear, suffered last week, is set to sideline him for the majority of the season.
Tosin Adarabioyo picked up a minor training issue and has been ruled out of Saturday’s match against Crystal Palace as a precaution.
Wesley Fofana and Benoît Badiashile are still managing fitness problems, further depleting the centre-back pool.
With senior defenders unavailable, Chelsea may turn to Trevoh Chalobah, Josh Acheampong, Aarón Anselmino, Jorrel Hato or a makeshift Reece James to start at the back.
Despite links to attacking targets such as Alejandro Garnacho and Xavi Simons, Maresca has publicly urged the club to prioritise signing a ball-playing central defender.