Chelsea news: Medical expert reveals truth about Callum Hudson-Odoi and ‘three-year injury’
Chelsea star Callum Hudson-Odoi has been struggling with the same Achilles injury since 2019.
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, has featured just once for Chelsea since early February, missing 10 matches in that time.
As quoted by club media last Friday (1 April), Thomas Tuchel revealed that the winger “still feels his Achilles a bit and has some lower back problems.”
Dinnery explained how a second issue makes Hudson-Odoi’s task of shaking the Achilles injury he has had for the last three years even more difficult.
“It always makes things a little bit harder when you’re managing two problems,” he told Football Insider‘s Adam Williams.
“We’ve seen these niggling problems with Hudson-Odoi going back to when he suffered that first Achilles injury back in 2019. This is nothing new.
“He did return earlier this year but it flared up again at the Club World Cup.
“But with this new back problem, it’s that chicken-and-egg scenario.
“Is it completely separate to the Achilles or is it a secondary problem brought on by the Achilles altering the player’s gait?
“It needs to be managed really carefully. He needs that level of confidence to return.
“He is explosive and has fast feet, so he needs to feel 100 per cent before he goes back out on the pitch.”
Hudson-Odoi has scored three goals and supplied six assists in 28 appearances in all competitions this season.
Per the Daily Mail last Friday (1 April), he is close to switching allegiances from England to Ghana at international level.
In other news, expert tips Romelu Lukaku tipped to quit Chelsea amid ‘rift’ with Thomas Tuchel.