Reece James is set to undergo scans on his injured hamstring, with Chelsea facing a nervous wait to discover the full extent of the issue he sustained in Sunday’s 2-0 defeat at Everton.
James asked to be substituted in the 26th minute at Goodison Park. The Blues captain hopes to have minimised any damage by coming off as soon as he felt the problem.
But he is now a major doubt for the busy festive period, with Chelsea facing five games between now and the end of the year.
Losing James is another major blow for the Blues, who are languishing down in 12th place in the Premier League and have 11 players out injured.
There are greater concerns about the long-term fitness of James, having sustained his seventh hamstring injury in the last three years.
James had only recently returned after Chelsea were without him for more than two months after he injured his hamstring against Liverpool on the opening day of the season.
He was making just his fifth Premier League start of the campaign at Everton and looked dejected as he had to be replaced by Levi Colwill.
Goalkeeper Robert Sanchez and left-back Marc Cucurella similarly came off injured at Everton and will also be assessed.
Chelsea hope to welcome back Christopher Nkunku, Romeo Lavia, Carney Chukwuemeka and Malo Gusto over the festive period, but continue to assess them on a daily basis.
Nkunku and Lavia have yet to make their competitive debuts for Chelsea, with Gusto having an important role as deputy to the increasingly injury-prone James at right-back.
