Thiago Silva was forced off in Chelsea’s 2-0 defeat to Tottenham (Getty)
Glenn Hoddle admits he fears for Chelsea if Thiago Silva is faced with a lengthy injury layoff.
The 38-year-old was forced off in the first half of Chelsea’s clash Spurs on Sunday as Graham Potter’s side went on to concede twice without reply in the second half.
Chelsea are yet to discover the extent of Silva’s injury, however, Potter has covering options with Kalidou Koulibaly, Wesley Fofana, Benoit Badiashile and Trevoh Chalobah all available.
But Hoddle is wary of Chelsea, who are now without a win in six games, without Silva at the heart of their defence.
‘They lack that punch. They lack that punch in and around the 18-yard box,’ Hoddle told Premier League Productions after Chelsea’s defeat to Spurs.
‘They started the game okay, first 10, 15 minutes they came out and were the better team.
‘But no, there’s not that little bit of magic there, they’ve got good players, very good players, but are they gelling as a team? No, they’re not. And they’ve got to have more end product.
‘When their elder statesman, Thiago Silva, goes off, to me, they don’t look the same team without him.’
Graham Potter is now without a win in six games with Chelsea (AMA/Getty)
Meanwhile, former Tottenham manager Tim Sherwood, who was working as a pundit at the stadium, believes Chelsea’s players ‘lacked desire’ against Spurs.
Asked if he felt Chelsea’s players were behind Potter, Sherwood said: ‘I think in the first 10 minutes they were very good, they were very confident, they were popping it around, I was thinking, ‘this could be a very difficult afternoon’.
‘As soon as they went behind in the second half that’s when you need people to stand up and show you’re performing for the shirt.
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‘I never saw that, I really didn’t see that, I thought they lacked effort, they lacked a plan, it was just hope, it was just can one of those world-class players turn it around?
‘They just got dominated from start to finish. I think Tottenham had more of a game plan, more of a structure, more will power, unfortunately it was a really poor performance from Chelsea.
‘I think it lacked that desire, you could sense it in here, the Chelsea fans left before the end, 10, 15 minutes before the end they were going home. You don’t see that from Chelsea fans, they couldn’t be bothered to stand and boo the team, they just left.’
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‘They don’t look the same team without him.’
