Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino has confirmed that Enzo Fernandez has a hernia and will miss the Christmas Eve match against Wolves.
The midfielder was substituted in the 32nd minute of the dramatic Carabao Cup quarter-final win over Newcastle on Tuesday night due to what was previously described as "illness".
Fernandez went straight down the tunnel after being withdrawn at Stamford Bridge, only to later re-emerge to watch his team-mates triumph on penalties after a late Mykhailo Mudryk equaliser to tee up a two-legged last-four clash with Championship side Middlesbrough in January.
He was pictured crying after the match, but Pochettino has now revealed that the £107million signing from Benfica feels fine and will likely miss just one game.
"Enzo is going to be out of the game against Wolverhampton," Pochettino told reporters on Friday. "We are going to see if he can be involved again as soon as possible.
"You already have the information that it was a hernia and he also didn’t feel well. We are going to give treatment with the doctor.
"For me, it is not going to be a problem. I think he is going to be as soon as possible again with the group."
Chelsea have welcomed back midfield duo Romeo Lavia and Lesley Ugochuwku, while attacking pair Christopher Nkunku and Noni Madueke will also be available for the trip to Molineux.
However, Reece James is sidelined for "several weeks" after a hamstring operation, with his surgeon previously revealing to the Daily Telegraph that he could be out for as long as four months.
The club captain revealed he had received support from fans after his latest injury setback but "significantly more hate and negativity".
Pochettino has urged his players not to listen to such voices on social media, adding: “It makes me sad. Not only in that case. We are exposed [as football professionals].
"Today it is so easy to damage people, to write things. It’s fashionable to speak only badly. It makes me very sad because it also looks like the negative things have more impact than the positive things.
“What makes me very sad is that people involved in this business pay attention to that.
"Nobody is going to damage me. If someone insults me, I don't care. It won’t change my opinion or how I see things. When we lose some games I receive abuse on social media. SMS, WhatsApps, emails - but I never open them.
“I have had a few, not too many, no. I am saying it as an example. We receive too much abuse.
"If I am a sporting director or an owner that follows social media and says, ‘oh and that changed my view’, I say, ‘come on'. People that manage in this business need to be clever and being clever is trusting the people that you have.”
