Chelsea were rocked by an injury to key player Maren Mjelde during the Continental Cup final against Bristol City at the weekend. Chelsea started off the final well. Sam Kerr linked up with Fran Kirby twice to put the Blues 2-0 up within the first 10 minutes. Kirby joined the party when a terrible clearance from Bristol’s goalkeeper Sophie Baggaley fell at the forward’s feet. Kirby dinked the ball over the goalkeeper as she attempted to scurry back to goal.The telepathic duo linked up again for Kirby’s second, making it 4-0 to Chelsea. Kerr’s hat-trick goal saw Kirby unselfishly square the ball for her to tuck it away, making it 5-0 to Chelsea.Guro Reiten joined in on the fun after a delightful ball from Kirby for Chelsea’s sixth. The trophy was already at Kingsmeadow by the 54th minute as Bristol’s attack was ultimately too weak for the powerful Chelsea side.p1f0t7ebrktmk8bg1a65rnv1svrl.jpgHowever, 74 minutes into the game, Bristol City's Aimee Palmer closed in on Mjelde, who attempted to spin away and ended up injuring her knee. The instant cry from the Norwegian made the severity of the injury very clear. The sheer agony of her scream sent shivers down everyone’s spine, leaving the players and management staff silent. The defender was stretched off wearing an oxygen mask to help deal with the immense pain after seven long minutes on the ground. An ambulance was at stand-by to take her straight to hospital.The injury meant Chelsea had to play the remaining eight minutes, plus added time, with 10 players. All five substitutes had been made by that point.From the distress Mjelde was in, it was always unlikely to be a short-term injury. The Norwegian has since confirmed she will be sidelined for the rest of the season. Chelsea still have vital Women’s Super League matches left as they close in on a fifth title, which would make it 10 trophies in all competitions.Missing just one WSL match so far this season, the absence of Mjelde will be a massive blow to the Blues. She is an instrumental part of this title-winning team and has played an important role in Chelsea’s stellar season, scoring crucial penalties in both legs of the Champions League win against Atlético Madrid. They may struggle without her and Chelsea manager Emma Hayes will have to rethink their tactics moving forward.

Chelsea’s great depth in the squad should help cover the loss of Mjelde, but her injury was a hard one to take for the Chelsea players and management. The woman of the match, Kirby, was left in utter dismay. Chelsea players posted supporting messages on social media. The captain said: “A trophy dedicated to a fantastic teammate and all our fans at home. We’re all with you."

That afternoon at Vicarage Road, the celebrations were hindered by the injury. Hayes looked the most disturbed and described it as a “bittersweet moment”. The Blues honoured Mjelde, who had played a pivotal role in the matches leading up to the final, by holding up her shirt when lifting the trophy.

Hayes’s side now have tricky fixtures against Everton in the WSL and Wolfsburg in the Champions League, without Mjelde. It is going to be interesting to see how Chelsea perform after the mammoth loss of their key defender.