Why was Chelsea star Mykhailo Mudryk substituted at half-time against Fulham? Reason explained amid injury concerns

Chelsea boss Graham Potter has said that Mykhailo Mudryk had a cold after substituting the forward at half-time in their Premier League encounter against Fulham.

Mudryk, who joined the Blues on a deal worth around £88.5 million last month, was handed his first start for the club on Friday (February 3). He endured a difficult outing and was kept quiet by Fulham before being replaced by another January signing, Noni Madueke, at half-time.

Fans and pundits alike were surprised by the substitution, with some wondering if Mudryk had picked up an injury. Prominent pundit and former Manchester United defender Gary Neville said on Sky Sports (as quoted by football.london):

"I didn't think he would, but he has (subbed Mudryk off); it's a brave one. Certainly does not help the confidence of a new signing."

Neville then went on to question if the Ukrainian was injured. Chelsea boss Potter, meanwhile, had a simple response after the game (via the aforementioned source):

"Mudryk had a cold."

During his 45 minutes on the pitch against Fulham, Mudryk managed no shots or key passes and had just 19 touches of the ball. He also won only one of his six duels.

The former Shakhtar Donetsk man's replacement, Madueke, enjoyed a much better outing in the second half in what was his Blues debut. Madueke had 40 touches, completed two dribbles, laid out two key passes and won four of his five duels against the Cottagers.

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Chelsea squander multiple chances in frustrating draw against Fulham

Chelsea's profligacy in the final third cost them dearly, as they were held to a goalless stalemate by Fulham at Stamford Bridge on Friday. The Blues had 12 shots but got just three of them on target in another bland attacking display.

Kai Havertz missed a couple of quality chances in the first half, hitting the woodwork with a chip over Bernd Leno. Enzo Fernandez, on debut, went close to scoring in the second half but saw his shot from distance whistle just wide of the post.

Conor Gallagher saw a similar effort go wide before David Datro Fofana, with an open goal to aim at, was denied by Fulham centre-back Tim Ream on the goalline.

The draw saw Chelsea move up to ninth in the Premier League standings with 30 points from 21 games. However, tenth-placed Liverpool, who visit Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday (February 4) have two games in hand and are just a point behind.

Fulham, meanwhile, are sixth with 32 points from 22 games, having played three games more than seventh-placed Brighton & Hove Albion on 31 points.