Glen Hoddle admits he FEARS for Chelsea if Thiago Silva is faced with a  lengthy lay-off

Glen Hoddle has insisted Chelsea are not the same team without Thiago Silva and admitted he fears for them if he is faced with a significant injury lay-off.

The centre-back, 38, has been one of the Blues’ standout players in what is turning into a miserable season, but he limped off in the first half of their 2-0 defeat to Tottenham on Sunday.

Graham Potter’s side have now won just two of their last 15 Premier League games and sit 14 points off the top four.

The severity of Silva’s injury is as of yet unconfirmed, and there was a welcome sight for Chelsea fans in regards to Wesley Fofana stepping up his recovery from a knee injury when he replaced the Brazilian.

There are other options at centre-back with Kalidou Koulibaly, Benoit Badiashile, Cesar Azpilicueta and Trevor Chalobah, but Hoddle admitted he is worried for the struggling Blues if they are without their talismanic defender for a significant period of time, while he also highlighted their deficiencies elsewhere.

Thiago Silva limped off in the first half of Chelsea’s disappointing 2-0 defeat to Tottenham

Glen Hoddle insisted they are not the same team without Silva and that he fears for the Blues

‘They lack that punch. They lack that punch in and around the 18-yard box,’ Hoddle told Premier League Productions after their loss at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

‘They started the game okay, first 10, 15 minutes they came out and were the better team.

‘But no, there’s not that little bit of magic there, they’ve got good players, very good players, but are they gelling as a team? No, they’re not. And they’ve got to have more end product.

‘When their elder statesman, Thiago Silva, goes off, to me, they don’t look the same team without him.’

Former Tottenham boss Tim Sherwood was also scathing of Chelsea with the Blues – eliminated from the Carabao Cup and FA Cup early on and hanging on to their Champions League hopes – facing their season effectively being over within weeks. 

He added: ‘I thought they lacked effort, they lacked a plan, it was just hope, it was just “can one of those world-class players turn it around?”

Wesley Fofana continued to step up his recovery from a knee injury when he replaced Silva

Graham Potter is under significant pressure at Stamford Bridge with two wins from 15 games

‘They just got dominated from start to finish. I think Tottenham had more of a game plan, more of a structure, more will power, unfortunately it was a really poor performance from Chelsea.

‘I think it lacked that desire, you could sense it in here, the Chelsea fans left before the end, 10, 15 minutes before the end they were going home. 

‘You don’t see that from Chelsea fans, they couldn’t be bothered to stand and boo the team, they just left.’

Potter’s side face a resurgent Leeds next weekend at Stamford Bridge, before they come up against a high-flying Borussia Dortmund outfit in the Champions League where they will hope to overturn a 1-0 deficit from the first leg.