Chelsea expect Cole Palmer to be sidelined until November following a club meeting about his groin injury.
Palmer, 23, is set to miss Chelsea’s return to action after the international break at Nottingham Forest on October 18, as well as the home game against Ajax in the Champions League, the visit of Sunderland in the Premier League and the trip to Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Carabao Cup fourth round.
The England international aggravated the injury, which also ruled him out of two games in August, during Chelsea’s 2-1 defeat at Manchester United on September 20.
Club sources, speaking on the condition of anonymity to protect relationships, indicated he remains a number of weeks away from a return.
Enzo Maresca, the Chelsea head coach, initially hoped he would only miss the Premier League games at home to Brighton & Hove Albion and Liverpool, as well as the Champions League fixture against Benfica, but has insisted Palmer will not need surgery.
Chelsea were beaten 3-1 by Brighton in their first top-flight match after Palmer’s setback, but have since beaten Benfica 1-0 in the Champions League group phase and defeated Liverpool 2-1 win in the Premier League last weekend.
Palmer has featured four times in all competitions this season, scoring twice.
“I don’t think he needs surgery; it is just about managing the pain in his groin,” Maresca told a press conference before the international break. “With the amount of games, it is something that can happen; it is the reason why we are trying to be a little more conservative with him.
“We said that with Cole, we are a better team, but we also said we need to play games without him. We are going to find a solution. We are not going to play with 10 players for sure! We will find a different solution.”