Things haven’t gone too smoothly for Antonio Conte since he took over as Chelsea manager this summer.
The Italian has already suffered defeats to Liverpool and Arsenal in the league and has had to make do without captain John Terry in recent weeks through injury.
And it seems as though he may have to make do without another one of his players for the visit of champions Leicester this weekend for an unusual reason.
That’s because Victor Moses is facing a one-game Premier League suspension as he is being accused of feigning injury so he didn’t have to represent Nigeria over the international break.
Moses played 85 minutes for the Blues against Hull last weekend, helping his side to a comfortable 2-0 victory.
However, when he was called up to represent his country, he claimed an injury prevented him from playing.
But Moses isn’t the only Premier League star that did that.
Watford’s Isaac Success did the exact same thing following his goal last weekend after coming off the substitutes bench before withdrawing from the national side.
Understandably, the Nigerian Football Federation are a bit suspicious.
“We know the two players had good games and there was no sign of injury on the duo during or after the game,” an NFF source told Completesportsnigeria.com, per The Sun.
“It came as a surprise to hear later that Moses was injured and that he would not be available for the game and Success finished his team’s game before claiming injury.
“Honestly, they won’t go unpunished if our investigation turns out as we are suspecting.
“In fact, we are considering writing a protest to FIFA if we find out that they connived with their respective clubs to feign injuries and stay away from the matches.”
So, why would they face a ban from their club after missing a match from their national side? Well, this is what the FIFA rules say: “A player who has been called up by his association for one of its representative teams is unless otherwise agreed by the relevant association, not entitled to play for the club… during the period for which he has been released or should have been released.
“This restriction on playing for the club shall, moreover, be prolonged by five days in the event that the player, for whatsoever reason, did not wish to or was unable to comply with the call-up.”
It will be the first time a player has been banned from Premier League football after refusing to represent his country – and maybe it will make England internationals think twice before pulling out of international duty due to a niggle in the future.