Mauricio Pochettino: ‘Chelsea would have struggled in Europe due to injuries’

Manager Mauricio Pochettino says he doubts whether Chelsea will be fit for this season’s European tour as they face an injury crisis.

The Argentine could be missing 11 players for Monday’s game against Everton, with Enzo Fernandes and Raheem Sterling recently linked to taking part in the meeting at Stamford Bridge.

This is the club’s first season without European competition since 2016/17, and the second time since 1996/97, following last season when they finished 12th in the Premier League.

Having achieved a seven-game unbeaten streak, the longest in the league in about 18 months, they will be competing for a spot in either the Europa League or the Conference League, and could qualify if they win the FA Cup.

However, Pochettino said his team’s injury problems need to be addressed if they are to play more games next season.

“What if we were playing in Europe this season with all the situations (injuries)? Oh my god,” said the 52-year-old.

“This is a team that is always missing eight to 10 players in every game. If you add more games, you’re going to have a really hard time.

“It’s all about experience now and having all the information to help the club make the best decisions to avoid something like what happened this season.

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“That’s not the main focus, it’s trying to define a team that can fit or have 80 percent or more availability.”

Last season’s team benefited from having a non-competitive season in Europe and took time to regroup before running a much improved campaign the following year.

In 2013/14, Brendan Rodgers’ Liverpool came within two points of winning the title despite not having to play a European schedule, a year after Chelsea finished 10th. They won the championship in the 2016/17 season under coach Antonio Conte.

Mikel Arteta led Arsenal to a fifth-place finish in the 2021/22 season. This was the club’s first absence from Europe in 26 years, during which time the team made great progress, leading to title challenges in successive seasons.

Pochettino countered that the situation at Chelsea, where the owners spent more than £1bn to build a young and inexperienced team, could not be compared to previous examples.

“It’s very different now,” he said. “You can’t compare with Conte or Brendan Rodgers, it’s unfair. We’re at a different Chelsea today.

“What we always talk about is winning the next game, the next game, the next game and what position we will reach.

“It’s always good to have a goal. But having a goal means having all the factors on your side. The important thing is to try to be competitive in the next game and not set goals that could be very frustrating if you don’t win the game you need to win.”