Friday 14 October 2016

Victor Moses fitness concerns spell danger for Chelsea fans' unlikely hero

"Chelsea sweating over fitness of Victor Moses," is a headline difficult to envisage given the neglect the Nigeria international has endured at Stamford Bridge since signing from Wigan Athletic in August 2012.
Moses, a surprise selection in Antonio Conte's XI for the win at Hull City on Oct. 1, had last started a Premier League fixture for Chelsea way back in May 2013 but he seized the opportunity afforded him and repaid the Italian's faith with an outstanding performance in a 2-0 victory at the KCOM Stadium.
Fielded as a right wing-back in Conte's much talked about tactical switch to 3-4-3, Moses' pace, passing and work rate on the flank, coupled with a clear understanding of his manager's revised strategy, earned the 25-year-old a bevy of man of the match plaudits as he stole headlines from goalscoring teammates Willian and Diego Costa.
It wasn't all good news for Moses, though. He tweaked his hamstring towards the end of the game and was replaced by Pedro, the injury preventing him from joining up with the Nigeria squad during the international break.
Chelsea face Leicester early on Saturday and Conte is likely to persist with the 3-4-3 system that worked particularly well against Hull and in the second half of the morale-bruising 3-0 loss to Arsenal. Moses faces a race against time to be fit.

It's a possibility that would be a demoralising blow for Moses, who has seen his career stall since his arrival at Stamford Bridge four years ago. It had all seemed very promising at the outset. After four failed bids, a reported £7 million plus £2m in add-ons had been enough to prise Moses away from Wigan for whom he'd played 74 Premier League games across three seasons, scoring eight goals. Chelsea, then managed by Roberto Di Matteo, had just won the Champions League, and the prospect of European football coupled with a chance to return to London where he'd commenced his career with Crystal Palace must have excited Moses
21 at the time.

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