Pochettino reveals Nkunku has a “problem in his hip” following his absence from Preston’s FA Cup victory.

With Christopher Nkunku battling a hip issue, CHELSEA have suffered yet more injury setbacks.

The 26-year-old French striker was benched during Stamford Bridge’s 4-0 FA Cup victory against Preston.

To defeat the Championship opponents, Armando Broja, Thiago Silva, Raheem Sterling, and Enzo Fernandez all scored goals in the second half.

Chelsea, who are aiming for a tenth title this year, secured their spot in the FA Cup fourth round for the 25th time in 26 seasons.

However, manager Mauricio Pochettino said that Nkunku is having trouble with another knock when he was questioned about the unexpected absence of the player.

Poch stated: “He wasn’t involved because he has a hip issue that developed after training.

“We need to see if he can be ready for the next few games.”

Tuesday’s Carabao Cup semi-final first leg between Chelsea and Middlesbrough will set up a West London derby against Fulham the following Saturday.

On January 23, they will play Boro at home. The following weekend, they will play their FA Cup fourth-round match. On January 31, they will travel to play Liverpool.

And now that the attacker is back available, the manager is going to be perspiring.

Pochettino is currently without 11 more first-team players, including Nicolas Jackson, the striker, who is at the Afcon, and Wesley Fofana and Reece James, who have been out for a long time.

Nkunku’s first season at Chelsea has been incredibly frustrating for him.

After spending £52 million to join from RB Leipzig in the summer, he had surgery to treat a severe knee injury he sustained in the preseason, which kept him out of action until December.

His debut was delayed until the Carabao Cup triumph over Newcastle, when he played the last 21 minutes off the bench.

After that, he had three appearances in Premier League matches during the holiday season. On Christmas Eve, he scored in his debut game, a 2-1 loss to Wolves.

However, he is currently back in the medical room, suffering yet another painful blow to his Blues career.

Nkunku, who scored 58 goals in his last two seasons at Leipzig, was brought in to give Chelsea’s offense more firepower and a dependable goal threat.

With Jackson and Cole Palmer leading the way with eight goals apiece in the first half of the season, the ten-cap France international was a huge absence.