Chelsea's new boys Chilwell, Ziyech set to miss start of the season due to injuries

Premier League giants Chelsea have been the busiest English club in the transfer market over the summer, having secured deals for Ben Chilwell, Hakim Ziyech, Kai Havertz, Timo Werner, Malang Sarr and Thiago Silva with potentially more arrivals expected at Stamford Bridge. However, despite the optimism around Stamford Bridge with the new faces at Chelsea, the Blues are expected to be without Hakim Ziyech and Ben Chilwell for the opening day Premier League clash against Brighton & Hove Albion on Monday, September 14. With the winter break scrapped for the upcoming 2020-21 season, Chelsea are expected not to take a chance with two of their new arrivals in order to avoid long-term injuries during the campaign.

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Chelsea injury news: Ben Chilwell and Hakim Ziyech to miss the opening game of the campaign? 

According to reports from The Athletic, Chelsea are set to begin the 2020-21 Premier League season without Hakim Ziyech and Ben Chilwell. Chelsea's first game of the new season takes place at the Amex and the West London giants will be hoping to get off to a positive start against Graham Potter's Brighton, who finished at the 15th place on the Premier League table last season.

Reports claim that Hakim Ziyech twisted his knee during the 1-1 pre-season friendly game against Brighton last week and he limped off the pitch 10 minutes into the second half. It doesn't seem like the Algerian will recover for Chelsea's opening league game against Brighton on Monday and more so, the physios at Chelsea won't be willing to take any chances with the 27-year-old due to a hectic schedule this season. 

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Along with winger Ziyech, left-back Ben Chilwell also remains a doubt to feature against Brighton on Matchday 1 of the new season. Chilwell's last game for Leicester City was on July 4 against Crystal Palace but the Englishman was subbed off at half-time due to a heel injury. Reports claim that Chilwell is still not ready to make his debut for Chelsea as the 23-year-old trained alone at Cobham last week. Chelsea splashed out a whopping £35 million to sign Ziyech from Ajax and another £50 million for Chilwell but it seems like the duo will miss the start of the Premier League 2020-21 season due to their respective injuries.

However, it's not all doom and gloom for Chelsea as the defensive duo of Cesar Azpilicueta and Reece James are expected to start the campaign after recovering from their respective minor knocks. German sensation Kai Havertz is making rapid progress and has already impressed Lampard in the few training sessions he's taken part in so far. Even USMNT star Christian Pulisic is in line to feature against Brighton following a quick recovery after sustaining a hamstring injury during the FA Cup final defeat against Arsenal last month.

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Premier League fixtures for Chelsea in September

After Chelsea's season opener against Brighton, the Blues will welcome defending Premier League champions Liverpool on September 20. Frank Lampard will be hoping to have a fully-fit squad when Jurgen Klopp's men visit Stamford Bridge. Chelsea  have an EFL Cup game two days later before making the trip to the Hawthorns on September 26 to face West Brom. 

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Image Credits - Chelsea Instagram