CHELSEA will be without both Reece James and Mason Mount to take on Crystal Palace - but Ruben Loftus-Cheek could be in the squad.
England midfielder Mount, 23, injured his ankle ligaments as the Blues beat Palmeiras to win the Club World Cup last Saturday in Abu Dhabi.
Meanwhile, fellow Three Lions star James has missed the past ten matches due to a hamstring strain suffered against Brighton in December.
The wing-back is yet to return to full training, despite travelling with them to the Middle East, and is still definitely out for tomorrow’s trip to Palace.
Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel admits that Tuesday’s Champions League clash with Lille may come too soon for both men.
But he is hopeful the duo may be back for next weekend’s Carabao Cup Final with Liverpool at Wembley.
On Mount, Tuchel said: “We will push for the League Cup final. He has injured ligaments in the very first minutes of the [Club World Cup] final unfortunately.
“The Champions League seems to be very, very close.”
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On James, he added: “We had a little setback because he caught the flu in the moment where he was very close to rejoining team training so this was a setback.
“Of course, it’s too long for Reece and for all of us. We miss him a lot. I had the feeling right from the very start that we had to deal with a big injury and unfortunately my feeling was right.
“You always have a risk with a very physical player like Reece and a big muscle injury, that you have to consider there is a delay with the comeback, which is where we are right now.
“He’s still in individual training, progressing a lot and doing almost everything you can do in individual training and we’re waiting for him. The plan is that he rejoins the group next week.”
Captain Cesar Azpilicueta, out of contract at the end of the season and who has been linked to Barcelona. is also a doubt for the trip to Selhurst Park.
The Spaniard, who has won every club competition going at Chelsea, felt discomfort in training earlier this week but still seems likely to start.
But in more positive news, midfielder Loftus-Cheek is available for selection against the club he spent the 2017/18 season on loan with.
Tuchel added: “He had problems at his Achilles, a separate issue from before, but it was very painful with some inflammation. It was not a big injury but painful, which held him back from being on the pitch.
“Since we got back from Abu Dhabi he’s been very strong and I can see that he feels free.
“He had an excellent training week and is available for the game.”
That means that Edouard Mendy will have the formidable back three of Antonio Rudifer, Thiago Silva and Andreas Christensen in front of him.
Callum Hudson-Odoi is expected to get the nod as left wing-back with Malang Sarr ready to deputise should Azpilicueta fail to make it.
N’Golo Kante and Matteo Kovavic are set to link-up in the middle, with Hakim Ziyech and Kai Havertz behind lead striker Romelu Lukaku unless Loftus-Cheek gets thrown straight into the mix.
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