The current fixture schedule for Chelsea has been well documented. The team played nine games in January, in four different competitions. 

From the 1-1 draw at Manchester City to the game last night, the Blues played 10 games in 31 days. So 10 games in the space of one month. All of this comes off the back of the 25/26 season, finishing in mid-July. 

Fortunately, the schedule in February is softer, with just four games to be added to the Carabao Cup second leg against Arsenal. Had Liam Rosenior's side finished in the Champions League play-offs, it would have been seven games and travelling across Europe.

So, once again, it cannot be overstated how important it was to finish in the top eight. Particularly as Rosenior now has more time to get his ideas across and implement his philosophy. 

Nevertheless, from March onwards, things will get particularly hectic again. There will be games in the Champions League round of 16, and a potential FA Cup fifth round game, depending on how things go away to Hull City next weekend. 

Therefore, the more players at Rosenior's disposal, the better. That goes without saying. Unfortunately, it is often not the reality. 

We saw Reece James and Pedro Neto miss the game at Arsenal on Tuesday night. We have seen Cole Palmer miss large chunks of the season already. Levi Colwill has been out all season with an ACL injury. And so on. 

One other player who missed the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg was winger Jamie Gittens. This has led to several questions from the fanbase, knowing that he had been withdrawn early on against West Ham United on Saturday evening.

Well, there has now been an update. On Thursday afternoon, Rosenior confirmed that the winger has torn his hamstring and will be out "long term", with no return date yet given. 

It's safe to say the move to Chelsea has not worked out for Gittens so far, having joined the club from Borussia Dortmund last summer. He has played just 1105 minutes across all competitions, scoring one goal and providing five assists. 

With this injury, it could be 1105 minutes and out, but we'll see. It has just been a disaster for the Englishman so far. Nevertheless, it is another body down for Chelsea and Rosenior during a very busy period of the season, so it is still a shame. 

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