Chelsea dealt injury blow as striker leaves Aston Villa friendly on stretcher

Chelsea manager Graham Potter has been handed a potentially serious injury blow after Armando Broja was stretchered off against Aston Villa.

The 21-year-old clasped his knee after colliding with Ezri Konsa 19 minutes into their friendly in Abu Dhabi and was taken away on a stretcher after a lengthy period of treatment.

The Athletic note that Broja appeared to be in a considerable amount of pain as he left the field, perhaps indicating that the injury may be significant.

Should the Albanian be ruled out for any length of time, Blues boss Graham Potter may look to dip into the transfer market as Kai Havertz and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang would be his only recognised centre forwards.

The former Brighton boss has a congested period of fixtures to contend with once domestic action returns, with the club balancing Premier League duties with the beginning of the FA Cup and the knockout stages of the Champions League.

Broja has featured regularly for Chelsea this season after a successful loan spell with Southampton – albeit from the bench more often than not – and has a solitary goal and assist to his name from 18 appearances.

West Ham United had hoped to lure Broja away from Stamford Bridge on a permanent deal, but they ended up signing Gianluca Scamacca from Sassuolo instead in a deal worth around £35m. Thomas Tuchel, Chelsea’s head coach at the beginning of the season, then confirmed that Broja would be part of the club’s plans moving forward.