Swansea City manager Steve Cooper has revealed that defender Marc Guehi was brought off the field during the 1-1 draw away at Blackburn Rovers on Tuesday night with a groin injury.

Guehi has been an influential performer for Swansea so far this campaign, with the Chelsea loanee having helped Cooper’s side record 14 clean sheets in the Championship during his 31 league appearances (Sofascore). The 20-year-old though was not able to add to that tally against Blackburn with the hosts having taken the lead in the first half through Bradley Dack.

The defender was a notable absentee as the players came out for the second period at Ewood Park, with the 20-year-old having been replaced by Joel Latibeaudiere. That came after Guehi had enjoyed a solid enough opening 45 minutes winning five duels (Sofascore). However, he did appear to be not moving as freely as he normally would be towards the end of the half.

Speaking to Swansea’s official website after the draw at Blackburn, Cooper revealed that Guehi had been withdrawn at the break after picking up a groin injury. Although he did not give any details on how bad the injury is for the defender at the moment. While he also updated on the fitness of Paul Arriola who might be available for the weekend.

He said: “Marc just felt his groin, so that was a change that was forced on us.

“With Paul, he has a slight injury, we are not sure about him for the weekend yet, but he was not available tonight.”

The verdict

Losing Guehi for a period through injury would be a major blow for Swansea, with the defender an integral part of their starting line-up and vital to helping them maintain a solid foundation to build from at the back. Cooper’s side did at least show they can cope without his presence by holding on for at least a point at Ewood Park on Tuesday in the second half.

Cooper though will be hoping that Guehi can get himself back to fitness as soon as possible now, and if he were to be out for the next few games then Swansea will need to rely on the likes of Latibeaudiere to come into the side and replace his sizeable loss.

Swansea can not afford too many injuries to their key players at this stage in the campaign with the club targeting automatic promotion. Guehi’s return will be crucial in terms of determining whether or not Cooper’s side will have enough to make it into the top two positions come to the end of the campaign.