The bad news keeps on coming for Frank Lampard and Chelsea. As well as continuing to falter in the league they will now be without two of their key players for the rest of the season.
Both Mason Mount and Reece James are sidelined for what is likely to be the remaining six games, a run of matches which includes facing all of the current top four. Having not won in five games heading into the away trip to Arsenal on Tuesday it is already a daunting task.
The Gunners are a wounded animal and even a full strength Chelsea would be up against it to get much luck out of the match. Two of Lampard's most important players first time round will have to watch on, though. "Reece James is unavailable, probably for the season," Lampard said ahead of facing Brentford.
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"Reece had a hamstring he picked up in the Madrid game, he got through the game but we scanned it the following day."
"Mason Mount is the same [probably out for the season]. Potential for the last game of the season but probably not. That's obviously disappointing for us."
Although it was expected that James might turn to surgery having been fighting with injuries throughout the season it is understood he isn't planning on having any at this stage. Mount however did, updating fans on Instagram with a message.
"Had a minor procedure yesterday to sort out a discomfort I had for a while," he wrote online. "Everything went well and I’m feeling good. Time to rest but can’t wait to get back to training in the coming weeks!
"Thanks for all your messages of support and a massive thank you to the medical team, doctors and nurses for looking after me."
Lampard explained the issue that has kept him out of action since mid-February: "Mason has been carrying this pelvic injury for quite a while, it pre-dates myself.
"We've been trying and the medical staff have been trying but we've got to the stage now where he'll have a minor surgery. Probably a four-week recovery and we know where that gets us to."
They weren't the only two out for the defeat against the Bees either. Marc Cucurella was ruled out as well with the head coach revealing his setback. "We've had some issues. We've lost Mason, now we've lost Cucurella in the short term as well, so we've been working on how we want to play against Brentford."
He added afterwards: "Cucurella is injured. He injured himself in training two days ago. He will be out for a few weeks with a quad injury. Bettinelli injured, recovering. The others, not in the squad."
Kai Havertz also missed the game. "Kai, still struggling a little bit with his knee, won't be available for tomorrow but the good news is he should be training at the end of the week." This makes him a possibility to return for the game at the Emirates Stadium.
With Mauricio Pochettino appearing to edge closer to becoming the new full-time manager he will be watching the state of the squad very carefully and monitoring the progress ahead of what promises to be a mass clearout at Stamford Bridge over the summer.
Kalidou Koulibaly has also been out having gone off against Real Madrid in the first leg quarter-final tie. "No, he won't be available for either game," Lampard said about facing Brighton and the second leg, he wasn't on the bench on Wednesday night either.
"A hamstring injury, it will be a matter of weeks rather than days. He's a very good, very experienced player. It's a disappointment for him and for us, but opportunity and we carry on without him. Hopefully, he gets fit as quick as he can."
Elsewhere Armando Broja is the only long-term injury. He has spoken about his recovery to the club recently, saying: "I am recovering much faster than expected. Being able to get back into the gym and work on strength training has been a huge boost for me, as I was forced to stay in bed and spend more time in physiotherapy during the first few weeks after surgery. It was the most difficult period."
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