Chelsea will aim to get back to winning ways this weekend when they host Leeds United at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, with the Blues looking to reclaim their spot at the top of the Premier League.
Thomas Tuchel’s side slipped down to third after their 3-2 defeat to West Ham last weekend and are now two points behind new leaders Manchester City.
Tuchel has welcomed back a number of players in recent weeks, including Romelu Lukaku, Timo Werner and Christian Pulisic, as the Blues look to mount a serious title charge.
But the team have also begun to lose a few more squad members in recent times, with up to six players potentially missing for the visit of Leeds on Saturday.
Here is all you need to know about the current state of play at Stamford Bridge and the potential return dates for those out injured.
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Jorginho
Chelsea midfielder Jorginho missed the midweek Champions League trip to face Zenit St Petersburg with a lower back injury, which Thomas Tuchel said was down to playing a lot of football.
The Italian was in too much pain to be part of the squad on Wednesday but it is hoped that after resting for the past week he should be fit enough and back in contention for the visit of Leeds on Saturday.
Prior to the Zenit game, Tuchel said: "Jorginho is out with back pain. We expected there to be a stage where he suffers a little with being overloaded."
Ruben Loftus-Cheek
After making his way back into the team following Chelsea’s recent midfield injury crisis, Ruben Loftus-Cheek has now added himself to that sidelined list following Wednesday’s game at Zenit.
The midfielder injured himself during the warm-up for the game and failed to make an appearance in Russia, but the extent of the injury is unknown, as well as how long he’ll be out for.
Speaking after Wednesday’s match, Tuchel said: "Unfortunately, for many weeks, we are without N'Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic, and now without Jorginho and Ruben Loftus-Cheek was out after the warm-up."
Mateo Kovacic
Croatian midfielder Mateo Kovacic had been missing for the Blues through injury for a number of weeks but returned to training on Monday, providing Chelsea with a big injury boost.
However, after just one day of being back, Kovacic then tested positive for Covid-19 and is now undergoing a period of self-isolation, so it can be assumed that he won’t return anytime soon.
Tuchel had hoped to have him back involved for Saturday’s game against Leeds, but instead the Croatian will face a further period of time out of the squad.
N’Golo Kante
The fourth midfielder to be missing for Chelsea through injury is N’Golo Kante, who is expected to be out for quite some time following a knee injury sustained against Juventus at the end of November.
The French international has missed the last four fixtures for the Blues and Tuchel fears that it may be some time before he returns.
After the defeat to West Ham last weekend, Tuchel said that he had "no idea when N’Golo will be back."
Trevoh Chalobah
Young defender Trevoh Chalobah is expected to face a lengthy spell on the sidelines following a thigh injury he picked up during the Blues’ 2-1 victory over Watford nine days ago.
Chalobah was moved into a midfield role during the second half of the game but was later forced off with an injury and has undergone some examinations to determine its seriousness.
The 22-year-old is currently being assessed but there is no current return date for him as of yet.
Ben Chilwell
Left back Ben Chilwell looks to be a long-term absentee for Chelsea after partially tearing his ACL.
Surgery could be necessary depending on the severity of the injury, but Tuchel insists that the next six weeks will help to decide what the next steps will be.
Should the injury heal properly and not require surgery, then Chilwell may return to training at some point in the new year.
