RAHEEM STERLING is not in Chelsea’s squad for today’s crunch Premier League clash at Newcastle after suffering from migraines.
The England forward has come under fire in recent weeks after a number of below-par performances.
And just two days after being named in Gareth Southgate’s squad for the Qatar World Cup, Sterling is not involved at St James’ Park with the Blues due to illness.
Graham Potter said: “Raheem missed training yesterday with a bit of sickness. It’s nothing serious for Raheem, some migraines and he was unable to travel.”
The forward, 27, joined Chelsea from rivals Manchester City for £47.5million.
But he has just five goals in 19 games after being used in a variety of positions by Graham Potter.
And Chelsea’s recent poor results led to calls from fans for Sterling to be dropped.
The attacker now finds himself watching the Blues take on Newcastle from the sideline.
However, that’s not a tactics-based decision from Potter, as Sterling is in fact too ill to feature.
His absence has opened the door for Armando Broja to start this evening, with fellow Cobham graduates Mason Mount and Conor Gallagher also in attack.
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Trevoh Chalobah and Ruben Loftus-Cheek are also playing.
And there is even a league debut for Lewis Hall after his impressive showing in the midweek Carabao Cup defeat at Man City.
Speaking before the game at Newcastle, Chelsea boss Potter insisted Sterling was not being affected by criticism of his recent form.
Potter said: “It’s part of being a top player.
“It’s part of being where we are, in terms of there’s always something to prove, especially if things don’t go as well as you’d like in terms of performances and results.
“You know you’re open to scrutiny and criticism. If you don’t accept that or can’t deal with that then you probably shouldn’t be here.
“Raheem is a big boy so he understands that and things can change very quickly. So he’s had enough of a career so far to deal with that.
“It’s a new opportunity, a new situation, and I’m sure he’ll do really well.”
