Some worrying news regarding the fitness of Chelsea star Mason Mount broke on Tuesday afternoon.
The England international is set for at least two weeks on the sidelines after injuring his ankle in the FIFA Club World Cup final win against Palmeiras on Saturday.
The 23-year-old will now miss the Blues' Champions League round of 16 first-leg against Lille next Tuesday and faces a battle to be fit for the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool, which is set to take place on Sunday, February 27.
The Athletic are reporting that the injury is 'not as bad as first feared' for Mount, but Thomas Tuchel now faces a selection dilemma for the upcoming games.
Fortunately for Tuchel, he is pretty blessed when it comes to attacking players, with Chelsea having an array of options to choose from, but what could be the winning formula?
football.london takes a close look at how the Blues could line up in the coming weeks, based on form and fitness.
How will Chelsea line up?
Over the next couple of weeks - all of which Mount could be absent for - Chelsea take on Crystal Palace, Lille and Liverpool - with all three of them, perhaps with the exception of the last one, games they are expected to win.
There are a number of options for Tuchel and plenty of alternatives when it comes to setting up his usual three-man attack.
Romelu Lukaku will be hopeful he has cemented his place in the centre of the attacking trio, with the Belgian scoring in both of Chelsea's FIFA Club World Cup matches in recent days.
His link-up play with Kai Havertz is something that has excited Blues supporters on social media and that is one option we could definitely see. The form of Hakim Ziyech in recent weeks has been promising, also.
Havertz's performance in the CWC final could see him start at the weekend against Crystal Palace, with another option on the right-hand side being Christian Pulisic - if Tuchel wants more speed in his attacking trio.
There could be an option for all-out speed for Tuchel, if he does select Timo Werner, who has not been used too much in recent times. This of course makes more sense when Chelsea are defending a lead and the opposition is coming out to attack a bit more - with spaces in behind the defence bound to be left.
The fourth and final option, of course there are more for Tuchel if he wishes, would add a bit more balance to the attack, with the creativity of Ziyech on the right and Pulisic's directness going forward on the other flank.
Tuchel has other players who he could play in forward roles, including Callum Hudson-Odoi, although the England international has played as a wing-back this season and is unlikely to be preferred in a front three.
The German also had Kenedy, Saul Niguez and Ross Barkley among his options on the bench for the Club World Cup final, with Tuchel having other players available should he choose to change formation.
But Tuchel will be hoping to have Mount back sooner rather than later to bolster his options further for a crucial run of games in all competitions.
