It will be a while before Chelsea fans get to see Antonio Rudiger and Ruben Loftus-Cheek in action again, Frank Lampard has confirmed.
Both players are long-term injuries.
The former has been out since the 1-1 draw at Manchester United back in April, while the latter was injured in a end of season friendly ahead of the Europa League final against Arsenal in six months ago.
Unlike Loftus-Cheek, Rudiger has featured under the new Blues head coach this season.
The Germany international made his long-awaited return to first-team action after the first international break of the campaign against Wolves.
However, the 5-2 win was slightly marred with the centre-back having to be replaced at half-time.
It did seem as if Rudiger was closing in on another comeback ahead of the 2-1 win over Watford last week, but Lampard dismissed those suggestions and has now revealed that the 26-year-old will not be considered for selection for at least another three weeks following surgery.
"He had an operation and he is going to be out probably for three weeks, hopefully,"Lampard confirmed at his pre-Crystal Palace press conference. "Then we will have to see where match fitness comes in because he has been out for a long time now.
"It was nice to get something definitive about it because we have been trying to find a solution and he has been having some issues. It is not easy for a player in that position. So hopefully we are at that stage and hopefully in three weeks time we are in a lot better place."
Loftus-Cheek delivered a big injury update earlier in the week.
"It’s going well!" He told Versus when asked about his recovery from injury.
"It’s been a long time and I’ve had a few setbacks as well. It’s never been just a straight path but I’m close now…I’ve been running and moving, I feel I’m right on the edge. I’m close and I can’t wait."
But it appear that a return to action is not as close as the midfielder thinks.
"It is a long road. It is a difficult one for Ruben because he is obviously keen," Lampard added. "We all want him back. We know the quality but it is going out be a while. I feel for him because people ask probably and the good thing to say might be I am really pushing on.
"It might be next week. It might be next month but I don't think that will quite be the case. I think we need to let Ruben get on with it. We are all supporting him here but there's no immediate news."
