Premier League legend Alan Shearer has praised Chelsea star Josh Acheampong for ‘stepping up’ during the club’s defensive injury crisis.

The Blues, who defeated Liverpool 2-1 on Saturday, are dealing with a lengthy injury list heading into the October international break.

It was confirmed on Monday that Reece James had pulled out of the England squad after he ‘sustained an injury’ in the win over Liverpool.

Benoit Badiashile, meanwhile, limped off in the second half against Liverpool – having only made his first appearance for 94 days when he started against Benfica in the Champions League last week.

A third Chelsea defender, Wesley Fofana, has missed the last two Premier League games due to concussion while Tosin Adarabioyo was also absent from the matches against Brighton and Liverpool over a calf problem.

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Levi Colwill is injured too with the Chelsea defender expected to miss the majority of the 2025-26 campaign.

With so...