Christian Pulisic Out of Everton Clash With (Another) Hamstring Injury

Chelsea star Christian Pulisic has not been included in the Blues' squad to face Everton on Saturday evening.

The 22-year-old has struggled with injury issues throughout the campaign, and he is yet to complete a full 90 minutes in the Premier League this term. The American winger did play for an hour against Leeds United in the last outing and got his name on the scoresheet in added time.

But Chelsea boss Frank Lampard admitted in midweek that Pulisic had felt a bit of tightness in his hamstring after the victory over the Whites, and they would assess his condition ahead of the trip to Goodison Park.

Pulisic has clearly not recovered in time from this blow, as he has been left out of the travelling squad entirely for Saturday evening's late kick off on Merseyside. This further setback will come as a major blow to the winger, who has had to work hard to recover from a torn hamstring he suffered at the end of last season.

He joins a list of injured wingers which is causing a mini crisis for Lampard at Stamford Bridge, with fellow wide man Hakim Ziyech also missing through fitness issues of his own. On paper, the Chelsea boss has opted to start with forward Timo Werner on the left of a front three, and summer signing Kai Havertz flanking Olivier Giroud on the right.

Havertz has struggled to make much of an impact during his time in the Premier League thus far, and he was forced to miss two league matches when he contracted coronavirus in November.

Saturday's clash is a great opportunity for the German to cement his place in the side while injuries deny those vying for his position, against an Everton team which is without star playmaker James Rodriguez.