Chelsea have a race against time to see if one of their new star signings Christopher Nkunku will be fit for the first game of the season.

Nkunku has been performing well in pre-season for the London club after he moved from German side RB Leipzig in a deal worth around £52 million.

However there is now concern about whether he will be ready after he had to be taken in a friendly against Borussia Dortmund.

The game finished 1-1 and Nkunku was forced off in the 22nd minute.

Christopher Nkunku, Ben Chilwell
IMAGO / Sports Press Photo

After the game Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino seemed concerned about the incident.

He said: “The doctors are checking him, he had the chance to score but he feels something in his knee.

“Hopefully it is not a big issue and that he can be quick with the team. We need a few days to assess him and until we get back to London it is difficult to know.

“Always we take some risks because the pitch is not perfect as they are using it for different sports and that is sometimes the risk of the tour.

“I think it was a bit unlucky in the situation but we cannot complain about the pitch and to blame the pitch for why he suffered the injury. For me, it was bad luck.”

Liverpool are also awaiting some fitness tests of their own ahead of the first game with Thiago Alcantara and Stefan Bajcetic potentially ready.

However it appears unlikely that they will be as they did not travel to either pre-season camp in Germany and Singapore.

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