Chelsea travelled to Sweden on Tuesday night for their second consecutive meeting with Malmo in the Champions League - but N'Golo Kante did not join them.
Thomas Tuchel's side dispatched them with ease two weeks ago, goals from Kai Havertz, Andreas Christensen and Jorginho helping the Blues to a 4-0 win at Stamford Bridge.
Concerns mounted when Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner both limped off in the first-half of that meeting but Chelsea have gone from strength to strength since.
Wins in the Premier League and Carabao Cup have kept coming, including a 7-0 thrashing of Norwich City in west London.
Jorginho was joined in midfield by Ruben Loftus-Cheek in Sweden, while Marcos Alonso and Cesar Azpilicueta also returned to the starting XI in place of Ben Chilwell and Reece James.
But there was no place for Kante, despite the midfielder playing an hour against Newcastle on Saturday. Ahead of kick-off, however, Tuchel confirmed that the move was a precaution.
"We took the decision to build up N’Golo at home, so that he becomes a little bit more robust after several little injuries in the last weeks," the German said ahead of the game.
Kante has suffered a number of fitness issues over the last year but was an integral member of Chelsea's run to a second Champions League title last season, helping him to become one of the favourites for the 2021 Ballon d'Or.
Thanks to a groin injury and a coronavirus lay-off, the 30-year-old has been forced to miss eight games across all competitions.
