Chelsea midfielder Ross Barkley is likely to miss the home game with Manchester United on Saturday through injury.
Barkley has established himself as a key player for Maurizio Sarri this season after initially underwhelming following his January move from Everton, while he also impressed in England’s Nations League double-header against Croatia and Spain over the past week.
But the 24-year-old is unlikely to face United, and returning former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho, after sustaining an unspecified injury on international duty.
Barkley is not the only absentee, with teenage midfielder Ethan Ampadu likely to be out for the longest period.
“We have the most serious with Ampadu. Then there is a little problem with [Callum] Hudson-Odoi and Barkley. But for Odoi and Barkley it’s only a question of one to two days.
“The injury to Ampadu is serious, I don’t know how much, I hope to recover him in a couple of weeks.