Chelsea boss Frank Lampard has confirmed he will be without five key players for his side's trip to Burnley on Saturday.
Lampard is aiming to make it four Premier League wins in a row when he takes Chelsea to Turf Moor for the teatime kick-off.
But the manager has confirmed he will be without midfielders N’Golo Kante, Ross Barkley and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, and defenders Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen.
Speaking to the media on Friday, Lampard said: "Loftus-Cheek is well out, Rudiger and N’Golo [are both] not ready for the weekend. Christensen and Barkley are both out as well."
Asked how long he expects Kante to be out, Lampard said: "We need to get him right now. I don’t know. I just want him fit."
Lampard said he thought both Kante and Rudiger were struggling with injuries from last season.
The manager said of Kante: "He might be suffering from the big injury at the end of last season. There is no time-frame at the moment.
"Rudiger had a bad injury, this is a fall-out of last season, that is the nature of it. We need to remember that, but he is close."
The injuries mean Chelsea look likely to continue with Kurt Zouma and Fikayo Tomori in the centre of defence, while Mateo Kovacic is likely to keep his place in midfield in the absence of Barkley.
Christensen and Barkley could return for Chelsea's next Premier League game, away to Watford next Saturday. Before that they host Manchester United in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday.
Eighth-placed Burnley are just five points behind Chelsea in fourth, and Lampard is expecting a tough ride at Turf Moor.
Lampard said: "It’s a tough place to go. They have a strong way of playing, they are well drilled. They can give you big problems.
"It is a tough match. You have to respect the teams you play - it will be a physical battle."
