Anselmino's Chelsea Journey: Injury Challenges and Awaited Debut

In a corner of Cobham, far from the noise around Chelsea’s Premier League push, Aaron Anselmino is living a strange kind of limbo.

Signed from Boca Juniors for around £17 million in August 2024, the Argentine defender arrived in west London with the usual fanfare reserved for a highly rated South American prospect. A year and a half on, he is still waiting for his first Premier League minute.

His story since landing in SW6 has been anything but straightforward.

After impressing at youth level and on the international stage, Anselmino was immediately sent to Borussia Dortmund on loan once his tournament commitments ended. It looked a smart move: big club, big stage, the right environment for a young defender to harden his edges.

Instead, the spell became another detour. Recalled in January, he bid an emotional farewell in Germany before being redirected again, this time to Strasbourg for the second half of the 2025-26 season. France was supposed to give him rhythm and responsibility. Injuries gave him just three appearances.

The setbacks have followed him back to Chelsea.

Anselmino’s last outing in blue came in pre-season, a friendly against Johor Darul Ta'zim in August. It did not last long. He was forced off just before the half-hour mark, another injury cutting into another opportunity to impress.

Now, on the eve of a marquee home clash with Manchester United, he is out again.

Anselmino will miss Saturday’s Premier League showdown with an unspecified issue, and head coach Enzo Maresca’s assistant, Alonso, is in no mood to gamble with a player whose body has already taken too many hits too early.

“He's had a few things, a few injuries and it still will take a few weeks until he's fully fit and we need to be cautious with him because he has had a few of them so he's still not there,” Alonso said, underlining the club’s caution.

Chelsea know the profile they have on their hands: a composed, ball-playing defender with the aggression to suit English football. But they also know repeated breakdowns can wreck a young career. For now, patience wins over desperation.

While Anselmino waits, another veteran voice in the dressing room is edging back towards the pitch.

Goalkeeper Martinez, 34, suffered a nasty facial injury in the 2-0 win away to Everton, colliding heavily with Jarrad Branthwaite and leaving the Hill Dickinson Stadium on a stretcher. The initial diagnosis was bleak enough: up to six weeks out, a significant spell on the sidelines at a crucial point in the season.

The recovery has moved quicker than expected.

Martinez is now pushing to return before the international break, with Sunderland a realistic target. If he makes it, he will do so behind a protective face mask, a visual reminder of the collision that stopped him cold on Merseyside but not for long.

“Yes, there is a chance. We need to still wait for next week, but let's see how things go,” Alonso said. “But there is a chance.”

For Chelsea, the contrast is stark. One seasoned goalkeeper straining to get back on the pitch as soon as the medics allow it. One young defender being held back, however eager he may be, because the club cannot afford another false start.

The Premier League debut Anselmino dreamed of remains on hold. The question now is not whether he has the talent, but whether his body will finally give him the run of games he needs to show it.