Chelsea pair Carney Chukwuemeka and Trevoh Chalobah are seemingly likely to spend another period on the sidelines through injury.
Both players have endured a frustrating opening two-and-a-half months to the campaign, mostly down to fitness issues.
In the case of Chukwuemeka, he started the opening two Premier League matches against Liverpool and West Ham United, scoring in the first half of the latter fixture.
However, the 19-year-old was forced off with a knee injury before the break and had spent the following weeks in the treatment room before returning to the substitutes' bench for the game against Burnley on October 7.
As for Chalobah, his future has been a hot topic for debate for a number of months, with the academy graduate having failed to secure a transfer to Bayern Munich during the closing days of the summer transfer window.
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Nevertheless, a thigh injury has kept the defender out of contention for a first-team role at a time when head coach Mauricio Pochettino may have welcomed him back in the fold.
Ahead of the London derby with Arsenal on Saturday, the perception was that both players were in contention to be named among the replacements.
That is no longer the case, though, with Chelsea releasing a statement to reveal that the duo have recurrences of their injuries assessed in due course.
The statement read: "Defender Trevoh Chalobah and midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka have both suffered recent setbacks in their bid to return from respective injuries sustained earlier this season.
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"The duo will now go under further review before continuing their rehabilitation at Cobham with the club's medical staff."
Earlier this week, it was reported that Reece James had also suffered an injury issue at the beginning of the international break, resulting in his omission from team training.
James is said to have since been training alone, and not been mentioned in Chelsea's injury bulletin would suggest that the club captain may be closer to a return than initially expected.
Chelsea also have injury doubts over Axel Disasi, Cole Palmer, Nicolas Jackson and Armando Broja after they sustained various different issues over the past 10 days.
Darren Plant
