Not even on the bench any more and not in the team photo either: fate of former Borussia Dortmund defender Aaron Anselmino growing ever sadder

Since his abrupt departure from Borussia Dortmund last January, Aaron Anselmino has been going through a difficult time. At present, too, the 21-year-old centre-back is completely out of the picture at his parent club Chelsea.

Aaron Anselmino has barely been mentioned in public in recent weeks and months. To understand the situation facing the centre-back, who spent last season on loan from Chelsea at Borussia Dortmund, was suddenly recalled in winter and then immediately sent out again to Blues sister club Racing Strasbourg, you have to read between the lines a little.

What is well known is that he was hugely reluctant to cut short his spell at Dortmund against his will. A Westfalen video captured that painfully, showing Anselmino in tears as he said goodbye to his team-mates. His time in France then turned into a disaster that Anselmino would probably rather erase from his memory.

That is why there was a 241-day gap between posts on his Instagram profile, and why there is not a single photo from his time in Strasbourg. That was where the issue that has run through Anselmino's time in Europe like a common thread since joining Chelsea permanently in January 2025 for €16.5 million came to a head: he was injured.

How often did Aaron Anselmino play for Racing Strasbourg?

Anselmino played 15 minutes for Racing across three matches. In two of them, he came on in the 90th and eighth minute of stoppage time. Altogether, he missed 20 full matches for the Alsatians because of a dead leg and two thigh injuries. Each time, he was ruled out shortly after having been on the pitch.

Dortmund saw much the same. Anselmino produced a very decent debut there, then disappeared for weeks. The back of his thigh has caused him incredible problems throughout. Since leaving Argentina, the 21-year-old has now racked up seven injury layoffs, ranging from two and a half weeks to around three months.

For a young talent trying to develop on an unfamiliar continent, while having to adapt within a few months to three new locations, cultures and internal club processes, that is pure poison. The numbers show it. Since January 2025, Anselmino has made 14 appearances in professional football for a total of 603 minutes. Ninety-seven per cent of those came at Dortmund.

Aaron Anselmino currently injured once again at Chelsea

So what is going on with Anselmino right now? Take a guess: he is injured and out of the picture. Or out of the picture because he was injured? Nobody knows for certain, see paragraph one of this article.

With competition so fierce in London, and with new coach Xabi Alonso leading another fresh start that Chelsea underlined by spending just over €400 million on ten players, Anselmino was unsurprisingly seen as a candidate to leave. In whatever form that might take.

Interest was never likely to be intense given how rarely he has been available and how little reliability he has offered. The clubs that had at least toyed with the idea of signing him then felt vindicated on 9 August.

Aaron Anselmino has not played a single second for Chelsea

Before that, Alonso had given him 63 minutes across three substitute appearances on the Blues' tour of Asia, against Tottenham, Juventus and Milan. Each time, he replaced Jorrel Hato. That day, though, Anselmino started. Chelsea faced Malaysian club Johor Darul Ta'zim FC in their penultimate pre-season match.

The Argentinian lasted 29 minutes. Then his thigh muscles flared up. Anselmino left the pitch in tears.

Since then, he has stayed there, away from the field of play. On 27 August, Anselmino at least made the squad for the EFL Cup match against Luton Town, but spent the full 90 minutes watching on. In every other match, he has had to sit in the stands.

Aaron Anselmino missing from Chelsea team photo

Then, on 12 September, Alonso finally mentioned Anselmino publicly for once, naming him as one of three players unavailable for the league meeting with Hull City. That strongly suggests Anselmino suffered another injury after making the bench against Luton. Four days later, the official team photo was taken. Anselmino is not in it.

As for what comes next for the former Dortmund man, he knows the routine only too well: get fit, build up training sessions, ideally make a few brief appearances and finally stay stable for once. Only then will Anselmino have any chance at all of securing a loan move in winter.

That looks the most likely scenario, with the past few months certain to have left him deeply frustrated and annoyed. He may also have one eye on Chelsea's start to the season: with 15 goals conceded in seven competitive matches, made up of four wins, one draw and two defeats, Alonso is overseeing the Premier League's worst defence as his side ship more than two goals a game on average.

Aaron Anselmino: performance data in professional football