Valencia vs Chelsea: Tammy Abraham hopeful hip injury is not serious

The striker was carried off on a stretcher at half-time as Chelsea drew 2-2 in Valencia

Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham hopes scans on Thursday will clear him of any serious hip injury.

The England hitman was carried off on a stretcher at half-time in Valencia, as Chelsea battled to a helter-skelter 2-2 Champions League draw.

Christian Pulisic thought he had nudged Chelsea into the knockout stages, only for Daniel Wass’ fluke to steal Valencia a share of the spoils.

Abraham admitted fearing serious injury when he fell awkwardly, but now believes he has avoided a long-term problem.

“It’s much better than when it happened,” Abraham told Chelsea TV. “At the time I was fearful of the worst but it was much better when I got in. I was able to walk and move about. So I’m thankful and hopefully it’s not too long. I’ll have a scan, but hopefully it’s just bruising.

“It was a knee to my hip area, so hopefully it’s not too serious.”

Mateo Kovacic bagged his first Chelsea goal in his 71st appearance for the Stamford Bridge club, angling home from 20 yards to cancel out Carlos Soler’s opener.

Pulisic’s stubbed finish was initially ruled out for offside, only for the goal to be awarded after a video assistant referee (VAR) check.

Jorginho conceded a penalty for fouling Jose Gaya only for Kepa to pull off a fine save from Dani Parejo, while Maxi Gomez missed a hat-trick of gilt-edged chances in the first-half alone.

Rodrigo fluffed a chipped effort then missed a late sitter in a wide-open but entertaining encounter, that even had the watching Abraham hooked.

Chelsea can still qualify for the last 16 by beating Lille at Stamford Bridge on December 10, with Abraham already focusing ahead to that showdown.

“I was watching the second-half on my phone in the dressing room,” said Abraham. “It’s always been a dream to play in the Champions League so I don’t want it to end here, I want to push on further. So it’s good that it’s in our hands.”

PA