Chelsea's injury problems continue to pile up with two of their leading lights set to miss out on the World Cup.
N'Golo Kante has been nursing an injury for several weeks whilst Reece James has recently picked up an issue. Both men were expected to play key roles for their countries in Qatar, with Kante hoping to defend the trophy with Les Blues. Instead they could both be forced to watch from the sidelines as they recover from injuries.
Chelsea continued to adapt to life under Graham Potter and face Aston Villa this weekend. The new boss at Stamford Bridge is one of several appointments Todd Boehly needs to make as the American fills his top brass following a mass exodus in west London.
Here are the latest news lines coming out of Stamford Bridge.
Kante's major setback
Kante is set to miss France's defence of the World Cup after the midfielder suffered a recurrence of his hamstring issue.
He sustained the problem during training and is due to be sidelined for three months. Kante has been be missing since he picked up an injury in Chelsea 's draw with Tottenham back in August, although he had since made a return to training. The Frenchman has now aggravated his problem and is set for an extended period out.
The Athletic has claimed that there is no chance Kante will recover in time for France's campaign in Qatar, which will come as a blow given his importance to their success four years ago.
James issue worse than feared
James' World Cup hopes have been dealt a major blow after it emerged that his injury is worse than first feared.
The England defender limped off during the Blues' brilliant 2-0 win away to AC Milan on Tuesday, having unknowingly ruptured his knee ligaments at the San Siro. The issue is set to keep James out of action for six to eights weeks, casting serious concern over whether he'll be able to feature for the Three Lions in Qatar.
Following a report by the Mail on Friday which went far as to claim that surgery is a possibility, Chelsea manager Graham Potter was asked about James' injury in a pre-match news conference ahead of the Blues' trip to Aston Villa on Sunday. "He's due to see a specialist over the weekend," Potter confirmed. "Until we get that information there's not too much to add."
Incoming Blues chief slammed
Chelsea have been told that Joe Shields, who is poised to leave Southampton and become their head of recruitment, will "not be missed" by the Saints.
His former club have only had Shields on their books for four months following his arrival in the summer. New Blues owner Todd Boehly is looking to appoint new faces in several senior positions after a period of change due the change of ownership.
Marina Granovskaia was among the most high profile departures. Granovskaia, who was close with Roman Abramovich, had masterminded many of their recent transfer dealings and left a notable void. Shields will now look to step into her footsteps, but has not been given a glowing review by Ralph Hasenhuttl.
