Callum Hudson Odoi’s history of Achilles injuries makes his latest Chelsea setback all the more “concerning”.
That is the view of injury expert Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries site and has a background in medicine and data analysis.
Hudson-Odoi, 21, succumbed to a heel problem at the Club World Cup in early February and has featured just once since then.
As quoted by The Mirror yesterday (14 April), Thomas Tuchel revealed that the Cobham academy graduate would now be out for “weeks not months”.
Hudson-Odoi spent almost five months out of action with a ruptured Achilles tendon between the 2018-19 and 2019-20 campaigns.
Dinnery assessed how his injury record will affect the youngster’s rehab this time around.
“With any injury, you need to ease the player back and work within pain threshold,” he told Football Insider‘s Adam Williams.
“You need to ensure that you’re not pushing the player too hard or getting an adverse reaction.
“It’s about fulfilling activity-led criteria and taking things on a day-by-day basis.
“If they aren’t experiencing anything untoward, they can progress through.
“Ultimately, you’re aiming to get to a place where a player is able to compete in training without any problems.
“It’s always concerning because of the serious Achilles issue he’s had, which is why they may manage him a bit more carefully.”
Hudson-Odoi’s 28 appearances this term have yielded three goals and six assists.
He is unavailable for Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final against Crystal Palace at Wembley (17 April).
In other news, pundit issues “harsh” Chelsea verdict after analysing controversial Marcos Alonso footage.
