Chelsea have been handed yet another injury concern after Benoit Badiashile was forced off during the 3-1 victory over Aston Villa in the FA Cup.
The Blues went into the fourth-round replay in the West Midlands on the back of two successive defeats and having conceded eight goals in the process.
After a number of inconsistent displays this campaign, Chelsea supporters would have perhaps been skeptical over the inclusion of Badiashile alongside Axel Disasi in the centre of the defence.
However, the former Monaco pair each produced one of their best performances in a Chelsea shirt as they successfully nullified a Villa attack that had scored five times within 47 minutes against Sheffield United last weekend.
Nevertheless, just as it appeared that a morale-boosting clean sheet would be kept at Villa Park, Badiashile needed to be withdrawn during the closing stages.
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With five minutes remaining, Badiashile appeared to indicate that he had suffered a groin or thigh issue when making a clearance.
Once attended to on the pitch, it was quickly determined that the Frenchman should be taken off and replaced by Alfie Gilchrist, moments after Thiago Silva had been introduced to form a back five.
As the game entered added-on time, Villa scored a well-taken consolation through Moussa Diaby, denying Chelsea a first shutout since the initial tie on January 26.
Before his injury, Badiashile had made more successful clearances (nine) than any other player in the match and won 100% on his ground duels.
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Chelsea are yet to formally comment on Badiashile's issue, but he appears to be a major doubt for Monday's Premier League fixture at Crystal Palace.
An away Premier League fixture at Manchester City follows on February 17, before Chelsea square off against Liverpool in the EFL Cup final on February 25.
Mauricio Pochettino has recently also had Levi Colwill miss four games with a tendon injury and Trevoh Chalobah remained sidelined since the opening weeks of the campaign with a thigh problem.
Both players are pushing to make a full return to training in due course, though, and may come back into contention for the short trip to Selhurst Park.
Darren Plant
