Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca gave a worrying injury update on missing midfielders Enzo Fernandez and Romeo Lavia after Monday night's Premier League win over Wolves.
It was an important thing victory for Chelseatheir first in the league in over a month, and three points that moved them back into the top four of the table.
But Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, against the odds, was handed his first Premier League start for the club due to Fernandez and Lavia being unavailable after the previous game.
The pair had started together in midfield against Bournemouth, with Lavia getting his chance because Moises Caicedo was temporarily reassigned as a right-back. But each has had muscle problems which then kept them out of Wolves' visit to Stamford Bridge.
Lavia has a more serious problem. But the most disturbing aspect is that, even days later, Maresca admitted that there was still no known timeline for their respective recoveries.
“Romeo is more important than Enzo,” he told reporters. “We don't know yet how long they will be out. Hopefully not too long. (It's) muscle fatigue or a muscle problem. We have to wait a bit. Both were against Bournemouth.”
Fernandez was the captain Chelsea for most of the season, although club captain Reece James returned to the starting line-up on Monday and impressed against Matheus Cunha. Lavia managed a number of games in October and November but his performance against Bournemouth was disappointingly only his first in the Premier League since recovering from an earlier hamstring injury.
Chelsea's midfield depth without Fernandez and Lavia is thin. There were no reserve midfielders on the bench on Monday night, with doubts over whether Dewsbury-Hall is up to the standard expected.
Defenders Benoit Badiashile and Wesley Fofana also remain out, but the good news is that Levi Colwill has been declared “better now” and should be available to face Manchester City on Saturday.