Andrey Santos has been playing at the U20 World Cup with an ankle injury, according to reports i Brazil today.
The midfielder was key for his country as they reached the quarter finals, only to be eliminated by Israel in a surprising 3-2 loss on Saturday night.
This is definitely a blow to Chelsea – nobody wants to see their club’s players injured at all before they’ve played a single minute yet. But hopefully it’s the kind of thing that will be shrugged off in the weeks to come, leaving him ready to try and qualify for a work permit and make an impact in Chelsea’s first team this season.
We certainly don’t want to imagine him having played through it for this whole tournament and risking more problems long term – but we only have a limited say in that. The U20 World Cup seems minor to us in comparison to playing minutes for Chelsea, but it’s hugely important and prestigious, especially for players in South America, and we shouldn’t underestimate that.
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