Mauricio Pochettino is concerned Ben Chilwell’s hamstring injury is more serious than initially feared.
The 26-year-old defender pulled his muscle in a collision with Billy Gilmour in the 1-0 Carabao Cup win over Brighton on Wednesday.
The Blues are awaiting results of a scan but are concerned about Chilwell’s third such hamstring injury since the start of last season.
Asked about Chilwell’s fitness ahead of a trip to Fulham, Pochettino couldn’t confirm his recovery timeline: “The doctor told me it’s not a good thing, it looks a bad injury.
“But we need to assess in the next few days and we will see the period he will be absent from the squad and team.
“It doesn’t look good. It was in the last minute of the game, we are really sad about the news about Ben. We are disappointed because the news is not good and now we are going to miss another player for a certain time.
“It’s difficult to know [how long he is out for] now, it’s less than two days since it happened. We need to assess in the next few days.”
Pochettino added Reece James could return to face Burnley next week but is definitely out on Monday, with Malo Gusto suspended.
Chelsea will likely be without 10 players for the west London at Craven Cottage but Noni Madueke and Carney Chukwuemeka could return.
“We hope maybe Carney [is back],” he added. “Noni also after his injury that he came back from the national team with. He is getting ready and working hard.
“We hope these two players will be available for selection on Monday.”
Nicolas Jackson is also suspended and it is unclear whether Armando Broja will be fit enough to start, with Christopher Nkunku out injured until at least December.
Pochettino explained how he will approach the issue with two more training sessions to come before kick-off, adding: “We have a few options to play with a striker and without a striker.
“We need to assess all the squad after the game [against Brighton]. Things can appear after 48 hours, so we need to see how they are and how they recover. We have different options to take.”
James could be suspended upon his return as he faces an FA charge for allegedly using abuse language towards the officials in the 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa last weekend. He could be banned on his return from a hamstring injury.
