Mauricio Pochettino admits Reece James's red card is a "painful" blow for Chelsea after the 2-1 win at Brighton.
The captain was a late substitute but was quickly sent off for kicking out at Joao Pedro and now faces a four-game ban.
Danny Welbeck's stoppage-time goal gave Chelsea a late scare after Cole Palmer and Christopher Nkunku handed them a two-goal lead.
When asked about James’ red card, Pochettino said: “No I didn’t see. It’s difficult to give my opinion because I didn’t have time to see the action. But it’s painful [for us] because it’s a fantastic night of football and he’s a really important player. Now he is going to miss the next game and a few games next season.”
Mykhailo Mudryk also suffered a head injury during the first half, when Tariq Lamptey blocked the Ukrainian and caught him in the face. VAR checked the incident for potential violent conduct, but deemed replays to be inconclusive.
Asked if Mudryk was okay, Pochettino said: “No, he is not, we are checking. He was a little bit dizzy but we used the concussion substitution and the rule is seven days so he is not going to be available for the next game but I hope it is nothing wrong.”
Chelsea are in a commanding position to qualify for Europe in sixth place and need just a further point to guarantee qualification for the Conference League, with Europa League hopes still alive.
“So happy for the players, they deserve the full credit for the way that we worked, our approach to the game and the way we tried to apply all of the work we were doing on the training ground. I am proud," Pochettino said.
"To face a team like Brighton is always difficult here. We are so happy because the three points mean we are closer to achieving what we want.”
