Chelsea are set to be without at least nine players for Saturday's Premier League clash with Burnley at Stamford Bridge.
The West Londoners have confirmed that Romeo Lavia is ruled out for the rest of the season after suffering a setback in his recovery from a "significant thigh injury", and the 20-year-old joins Wesley Fofana (knee), Christopher Nkunku, Reece James and Lesley Ugochukwu (all hamstring) in the treatment room.
Chelsea have also confirmed that Levi Colwill (toe), Carney Chukwuemeka and Robert Sanchez (both unspecified) will not be available for selection this weekend as they are undergoing rehabilitation programmes, while Trevoh Chalobah (unspecified) is in partial team training, but will not feature against Burnley.
Mauricio Pochettino has revealed that Ben Chilwell sustained a knock to his knee on international duty with England and will be assessed ahead of kickoff, as will Enzo Fernandez who is yet to return to the club following his time away with Argentina, and Malo Gusto, who pulled out of the France Under-21s squad due to illness.
Cole Palmer was dealing with some minor fitness issues during the international break, but he was fit to feature as a substitute in England's 2-2 friendly draw with Belgium on Tuesday, and the playmaker – Chelsea's top scorer this season with 14 goals – should be available for selection on Saturday.
Pochettino will ponder whether to select Raheem Sterling from the start, with Noni Madueke and Mykhaylo Mudryk – who scored the winner for Ukraine on Tuesday as they qualified for Euro 2024 – also battling for a place on the flanks, as Nicolas Jackson leads the line.
Midfield duo Moises Caicedo and Conor Gallagher are set to retain their places in the first XI, while centre-back Thiago Silva and goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic are expected to return.
Chelsea possible starting lineup: Petrovic; Gusto, Disasi, Silva, Chilwell; Caicedo, Fernandez; Palmer, Gallagher, Mudryk; Jackson
Oliver Thomas
