What Kadeisha Buchanan’s injury means for Chelsea

Chelsea have suffered yet another blow with Kadeisha Buchanan pulling out of international duty with Canada due to injury.

Emma Hayes’ side are currently fighting on all fronts. They’re bidding to defend their Women’s Super League title, and are currently in second in the table with a game in hand.

They are also playing in an FA Cup semi-final tie against Aston Villa at the weekend before beginning the preparation for their two-legged UEFA Women’s Champions League semi-final tie against last year’s beaten finalists, Barcelona.

Of the four WSL teams competing for the title, Chelsea have the most matches until the end of the season, and Hayes has admitted that her squad is feeling the effects of playing in so many games.

It does not help that there already seems to be an injury crisis at the club, with fellow centre-back Millie Bright, Pernille Harder, Fran Kirby and Katerina Svitkova all still sidelined.

Adding Buchanan to the list means that Chelsea may be without their starting centre-back pairing for the foreseeable future.

Earlier in the season, Bright spoke on her partnership with Buchanan, who joined Chelsea from Lyon last summer. The England defender said: “[Buchanan] has been super easy to play alongside and communicate with.

“She is a really chilled character off the pitch and is easy to get along with. And she also is on the pitch, which is nice because it gives her that composure on the ball. She brings something different to our team.”

Last month, Hayes said that she’d need every player to step up while the Blues go through the busy period.

“The whole squad has worked so hard, so each and every one of us is able to play their best part. I know what we’ve developed over time. We’ve built a team to cope with these situations.

“Our goal is to make sure not only we’re competing, but everybody feels like they can play their part. The squad I talk about so much every week will certainly come into play in the next few weeks. We’re going to need every single player.”