Chelsea news: Tiemoue Bakayoko injury fear as midfielder breaks down in training
French star left grimacing in pain at club's Cobham HQ today and limped away from the action as Antonio Conte is left fearing more fresh injury woe
CHELSEA have been handed a major injury scare after Tiemoue Bakayoko broke down in training today.
The £40million midfielder was left grimacing in pain and limped off the pitch early to hand Antonio Conte yet another fitness worry.
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Chelsea boss Conte had already been fearing bad news after striker Michy Batshuayi was forced to pull out of the Belgium squad with a foot problem.
But his day got worse when Bakayoko pulled up in agony as he was going through his own personal fitness work while the rest of the squad trained elsewhere.
The former Monaco star has been playing through pain for much of the season, having arrived at the club still recovering from knee surgery over the summer.
He was then hit by a groin strain during the 3-3 Champions League draw at home to Roma, but because so many other players were injured he soldiered on.
SunSport understands he was taking part in a one-to-one session this morning when he broke down in the middle of sprint shuttles.
In obvious pain, the 23-year-old hobbled away back to the dressing room for treatment.
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Now the London club will be left sweating over his fitness in a season when they have been dogged by injuries.
N'Golo Kante, Victor Moses, Danny Drinkwater and Alvaro Morata have all suffered muscle injuries in recent weeks.
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The situation got so bad that Conte was forced to call up 17-year-old Ethan Ampadu after he was left with only Bakayoko and Cesc Fabregas as fit central midfielders at the club.
That fitness crisis has eased over the past fortnight, with Morata, Drinkwater and the influential Kante all returning to action.
But Conte will be desperate to avoid being hit by yet more absentees at a time when the club are fighting to stay in the Premier League title race and qualify from the group stages in Europe.
Striker Batshuayi has returned to the club today for treatment on the foot injury that will rule him out of Belgium's games against Mexico and Japan.