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Oliver Harbord & Scott Trotter

Higuain, Hudson-Odoi and Kante - Latest Chelsea injury news and expected return dates

Despite drawing with Burnley, Chelsea are still in the driving seat for Champions League football.

This has been made possible even after Arsenal, Tottenham and Manchester United played their games in hand across Tuesday and Wednesday evenings.

The Blues are now a point clear of the Gunners after their 3-1 defeat to Wolves, while the Red Devils' loss to local rivals Manchester City has left them three points behind Maurizio Sarri's side with as many games remaining.

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It's fourth vs sixth at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon where if the west London outfit can avoid defeat - or better yet win away at a fellow top six side for the first time this season - then that will boost their hopes of a top four finish.

Sarri will want to name his strongest side possible, but at this stage of the season having a fully fit squad is a luxury that only a handful of managers have.

With that said, who is struggling for the Blues at the moment?

Here's the latest on who is the running to be spending some time on the sidelines and who should be back fit for the remainder of the season.

N'Golo Kante is a crucial player for Sarri regardless of the fact many consider him to have been forced away from his best position. He bagged a goal against the Clarets before having to be substituted with a rib injury.

It appears he should be back this weekend.

(GLYN KIRK/AFP/Getty Images)

Gianfranco Zola noted after the Burnley game: "He had a contusion in his ribs landing on a player’s leg. He should be alright, but nothing serious."

Chelsea fans can't believe what happened with James Tarkowski and N'Golo Kante in Burnley draw

It was a sad sight as Callum Hudson-Odoi had to leave the field following and awkward landing against Burnley. The England international of course had to be substituted before it was revealed that he ruptured his Achilles.

He has since been operated on.

A statement from Chelsea read: "Callum successfully underwent surgery on his ruptured Achilles tendon last night [Tuesday}.

"He will miss the rest of this campaign and will spend the summer undergoing rehabilitation in order to resume full training as soon as possible."

Antonio Rudiger had to be helped off the Anfield pitch by two physios around 11 days ago after suffering a knee injury against Liverpool.

It looked like his season could well be over, however that doesn't seem to be the case and the injury is not as bad as first feared.

The German is hopefully back in time to face Manchester United on April 28, with Gianfranco Zola saying: "It looks not as bad as we thought.

"He is a strong boy and should be back earlier [than initially feared]. There is a strong chance he will be back for the Man United game."

Marcos Alonso has struggled to keep his place in the Premier League side and would have started against Slavia Prague in Europe, but picked up a gluteal injury.

The defender will be hoping to get his place back in the side and the injury does not appear to be a long-term issue for the Spaniard. Like Rudiger he could return this weekend.

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Danny Drinkwater has not played for the Blues since the Community Shield and it has been a bizarre season for him, just training without even coming close to a matchday squad.

Off the field as well, Drinkwater is currently waiting his drink driving charge and things have not gone the way that he would have wanted right now.

Drinkwater has not been in training recently, but he is going to go the whole campaign without playing a competitive match.

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It has been a slightly frustrating season for Ethan Ampadu who has rarely featured for the Blues and has now started to struggled with a back injury.

Despite having trained with the first team for the majority of the season, he has not been given the chances that Hudson-Odoi has been getting.

Ethan Ampadu during the win over Sheffield Wednesday (Photo by Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images) (ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/Getty Images)

He has a very bright future ahead of him and now needs the chance for more regular playing time.

Gonzalo Higuain was the other player to be substituted in the draw against the Clarets, but there has been no injury reported and thus looks set to feature against the Red Devils.

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