Chelsea are facing a crisis in attack after discovering that Nicolas Jackson will be out until April with a hamstring injury.
Jackson had a scan on Wednesday and his absence leaves Enzo Maresca without a conventional striker. Maresca said last week that Marc Guiu was also expected to be out for a while after limping off during Chelsea’s win over West Ham this month.
Chelsea had hoped Jackson would make a swift return after he pulled up during the first half against West Ham. However the former Villarreal player missed last weekend’s FA Cup defeat by Brighton and tests have indicated that he will not be back until the game against Tottenham on 2 April.
That leaves Maresca to choose between persisting with Christopher Nkunku as a striker or using Cole Palmer as a false 9. Nkunku, whose future was in the air during the January transfer window, did not impress as a forward against Brighton.
Chelsea, who are in fourth place, visit Brighton again in the league on Friday and questions will be asked about why they did not reinforce their attack last month. João Félix, the Portugal attacker, was allowed to join Milan on loan. Chelsea looked at signing a striker or a left-winger but decided to focus on targets for the summer.
Maresca will hope that losing Jackson does not hit his side’s hopes of Champions League qualification. The Senegal international has gone eight games without a goal but is valuable because of his pressing, pace and link-up play. Chelsea, who have won three of their past 10 games, lacked a presence up front against Brighton.
