Chelsea's defensive reality is coming home to roost in the final weeks of this season as Antonio Rudiger's decision to leave for Real Madrid has become public, and Andreas Christensen's drawn-out departure to Barcelona has been an open secret for some time.
Christensen's absence from Saturday's FA Cup final loss to Liverpool was a surprise to his own teammates, as football.london understands the defender had been set to start at Wembley, but Trevoh Chalobah was made to step in after Christensen left the team hotel on Saturday morning, similar to his last-minute omission from February's final.
Whether the Dane features in the Blues' remaining two league fixtures against Leicester and Watford is unclear, but his departure seems settled. Which, along with Antonio Rudiger, will force the club to act this summer to replace two senior players in a suddenly vulnerable area of Thomas Tuchel's squad.
