Football News: Key Chelsea defender set to miss UCL clash against Borussia Dortmund

Thiago Silva's fitness for Chelsea's Champions League match against Borussia Dortmund next week is allegedly a concern. The Blues need to lift the UCL trophy for 2nd time in 3 years to confirm their place in next year's Champions League competition.

This is because the London Club's domestic performance is diminishing game by game. Chelsea are currently placed 10th in the Premier League table with only 31 points i.e 14 more than 4th placed Tottenham.

Chelsea lost 1-0 overall even though they had the upper hand in the opening leg against Dortmund in Germany. Despite having a large roster at his disposal, Graham Potter could miss his most trustable defender Silva for the crucial match.

As The Times reports that Chelsea may be forced to play without their most experienced player in the 2nd leg. After colliding with Harry Kane in the opening minutes of Sunday's 2-0 loss to Spurs, Silva needed several minutes of medical attention.

However, the 38-year-old got back on his feet to continue the match. But he soon signalled to the dugout that he would have to be removed from the London derby.

Silva suffered a knee injury, and Potter implied after the game that he was understandably worried about the defender's health.

According to the source, Silva is presently anticipated to miss a week of action, theoretically putting him in a position to play against Dortmund.

Yet, if Silva hadn't been able to train with the rest of the team for at least seven days, Potter wouldn't likely take any chances with him in a game of that magnitude.

Potter's decision to leave Benoit Badiashile out of his team for the knockout stages limits Chelsea's options for replacements.

Wesley Fofana and Trevoh Chalobah are the only remaining candidates to take Silva's spot at this time; the former has just recently recovered from a knee injury of his own.

With a match against Leeds United coming up before the UCL match, Potter would have to decide whether to deploy the Frenchman, who has played just 116 minutes since October 5, twice in three days.

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