Emerson Palmieri will miss Saturday’s trip to Wolverhampton Wanderers because of the hamstring injury he sustained while on international duty.
That means Marcos Alonso will likely make his first start of the season at left back against a Wolves team that favours attacking down their right flank.
Emerson’s injury, picked up eight minutes into Italy's Euro 2020 qualifier away to Finland on Sunday evening, is not understood to be serious but it has not recovered sufficiently for him to be risked against Nuno Espirito Santo’s team.
Frank Lampard confirmed that N’Golo Kante will also miss the trip to Molineux as he continues to recover from an ankle injury.
"He still has issues with his ankle," the head coach said. "The medical team are working with him. He is in a transition period and we are trying to get him on the pitch. He is doing some physical work but this game comes too soon for him.
"Hopefully he is close. I don’t want to jump the gun because we are waiting for improvements for that final step to get him where we want him to be on the pitch. Hopefully that will be in the next week or so."
In more positive news for Chelsea, Antonio Rudiger is expected to start at centre back, while Mateo Kovacic and Pedro Rodriguez are also in contention following minor injuries.
Rudiger, 26, has not featured since injuring his knee away to Manchester United in April and Lampard has spoken of the Germany international become a more influential in the dressing room this season.
"I don’t want a young team for the sake of it," Lampard said. "I want leaders within that. Rudiger isn’t old but he certainly needs to take on the responsibility of being a leader. I see it in his personality that he has.
"It has to be channelled in the right direction and he can then be very influential for the team and also for [the likes of Hudson-Odoi, Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori. This happens when you become more experienced and he is ready to take on those roles."
