Chelsea could be dealt with another injury blow after Mykhailo Mudryk was withdrawn by Ukraine in the 1-1 draw with England on Saturday.
The 22-year-old also required medical attention in the first half of proceedings following a clash with Marcus Rashford.
He recovered from this knock only to be later taken off in the game in the aftermath of a collision with Kyle Walker and now could be unavailable as a result of a calf problem.
Wesley Fofana, Reece James, Carney Chukwuemeka and Christopher Nkunku also remain on the sidelines for the Blues among others. This latest news will no doubt frustrate Mauricio Pochettino who has been unable to field a full-strength side since his arrival in the summer.
With that in mind, there has been an extensive recruitment process over the last 12 months so a lack of strength in depth within the squad shouldn’t be an issue.
As a further blow, the Mudryk news comes after fears grew that Romeo Lavia could be laid off for a significant amount of time after a training ground injury.
The Belgian teenager picked up the knock during a training session at Cobham on Thursday.
Lavia, who was signed by Chelsea having competed with Liverpool this summer before completing a deal worth up to £58million, is yet to make his debut for the Blues having arrived lacking match fitness.
Carney Chukwuemeka is set for another month on the sidelines after damaging his knee during last month’s 3-1 defeat to West Ham, in which he scored Chelsea’s only goal of the game.
In more positive news, Trevoh Chalobah and Benoit Badiashile are nearing returns and Armando Broja is building up his fitness after missing the second half of last season which would be a timely boost to Pochettino’s attacking options.
There will be fingers crossed this week that news on Mudryk and Lavia come back positive and both are fit enough to get game time.
