Chelsea have been rocked by news Michy Batshuayi will miss their next five matches after picking up a foot injury during the international break, reports the London Evening Standard.
Batshuayi was forced to pull out of the Belgium squad at the start of the break and has not managed to train since returning to Chelsea.
While Chelsea only project Batshuayi to be sidelined for two weeks, Antonio Conte’s side have five games in that time and that will only increase the pressure on club-record signing Alvaro Morata.
Chelsea failed to sign another striker in the summer and that will be put to the test over the next two weeks.
The defending Premier League champions face West Brom, Qarabag, Liverpool, Swansea and Newcastle in that time and Conte will have to manage Morata carefully to get the best from the Spain international.
While Batshuayi has rarely been considered by Conte, he has still proven a capable goalscorer when given the chance to play.
In fact, no player (5+ goals) requires fewer minutes per Premier League goal since the start of last season than the Belgian striker (1 every 62.1 minutes of action).
