Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel says his January transfer planning has not been influenced by a glimpse of life without Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner.
The Blues have been without the two forwards since they were both forced off with injuries during the Champions League win over Malmo earlier this month and neither are expected to return until after the international break.
Having sold both Olivier Giroud and Tammy Abraham in the summer, those absences have left Tuchel light on attacking options, with Kai Havertz pressed into service as a false nine.
Tuchel has also been without Christian Pulisic, who has played through the middle in the past, for a longer period but insists bad luck, rather than poor planning, is to blame.
When asked whether he would be forced into the market in January, Tuchel said: “Oh no, you cannot predict that you lose your three offensive key players at the same time. This is quite unlucky.
“You cannot have a a squad with four, five, six, seven key [attacking] players and three of them constantly waiting for another three to get injured. This does not exist in real life.
“I’m happy with the guys who are on the pitch tomorrow [against Newcastle] and I trust the guys who are on the pitch.
“It is a bit of a stretch, the group is tested but okay, so it’s a test. We want to make it and prove that we are a strong group and can compensate for situations like this.”
