Chelsea will be without key attacker Eden Hazard for tonight’s game against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.
News has filtered through various social media accounts in the last hour that the Belgian has a minor knock, and hasn’t travelled to the North East.
In what is a bottom vs top of the table game one absence shouldn’t be insurmountable for Chelsea, but they don’t have a good recent record against Sunderland.
In addition, Hazard is the key man in their attack. Willian, who will fill in for Hazard tonight, has not been able to regain his place in the team since losing it to Pedro, who was unable to make any inroads against West Brom at the weekend,
As long as they have a fit and firing Diego Costa up front Chelsea won’t panic, but this is very bad news to receive on a day when they can go clear at the top of the Premier League.
Can confirm that Eden Hazard is out of tonight's game at Sunderland with a minor injury. Should be back for Palace #cfc
— Simon Johnson (@sjstandardsport) 14 December 2016