Antonio Conte Faces Scrutiny over Ross Barkley's Potential Hamstring Injury

Chelsea midfielder Ross Barkley has reportedly become the latest member of the Blues to suffer a hamstring injury, leading to questions regarding coach Antonio Conte's poor record with training injuries.

According to the Daily Telegraph's Matt Law, it's unclear how severe the setback is, but Barkley will not be available for the Premier League match against Watford.

Per the report, there's no indication the injury is linked to previous hamstring issues that prevented Barkley from making his Chelsea debut until late January. 

If the injury is confirmed, the 24-year-old will be the squad's eighth member to officially suffer a hamstring injury this season, according to Law. Andreas Christensen met the same fate in the 3-0 loss against Bournemouth just days ago.

The Sun Football shared this image of Barkley during that match, believing he may have suffered the injury then, as opposed to in training:

Injuries have plagued the Blues throughout the season, holding the squad back tremendously. Conte and his troops avoided the injury bug in the 2016-17 campaign, which ended with a Premier League title, but the Italian has been forced to work without the likes of Alvaro Morata, Victor Moses and N'Golo Kante for long stretches of this season.

Barkley joined Chelsea early in January after missing the season's first half with hamstring issues. He made his debut against Arsenal as a replacement for Willian, who left the pitch of the Carabao Cup tie with a hamstring injury of his own.