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Chelsea will be without Cole Palmer for its match against Liverpool in just over a week, while center-back Tosin Adarabioyo is also a major doubt for the fixture.
Goalkeeper Robert Sanchez will still be serving his ban following a red card against Manchester United at Old Trafford. Levi Colwill is a long-term absentee, while Liam Delap, Benoit Badiashile and Romeo Lavia are also currently sidelined.
"We decided to protect Cole a little bit [to] not let his injury get worse," manager Enzo Maresca explained today. "We decided to rest him for two or three weeks until the international break to see if he can recover 100 per cent. I don’t think he needs surgery. It’s just a matter of managing the pain in his groin."
Liverpool has Crystal Palace this weekend in the Premier League before a trip to Turkey to play Galatasaray in the Champions League on Tuesday. The Reds are then away at Chelsea in a heavyweight clash a week tomorrow.
"Facundo Buonanotte can play in that position," Maresca said of Palmer's absence. "But it depends a little bit on the game, the other team and how they defend. It depends."
Buonanotte is on loan from Brighton and is therefore ineligible to face the Seagulls this weekend. But he could make the team for games beyond that including the visit of Liverpool.
"We said that with Cole, we are a better team, but we need to play games without Cole," Maresca said. "We are going to play with 11 players, for sure, and we will find a different solution.
"It's a bit early to think that next week defines the season. We are not even in October. For me, it's quite early. We need to continue to grow and improve."
While Liverpool had a full summer to prepare for the new campaign, Chelsea won the Club World Cup, which added lots more minutes into the players' legs.
"In this moment, for different reasons, we have problems," Maresca added. "We have seven or eight players out. Is this a consequence of last season? I don't know."
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Liverpool has one major injury concern of its own with Giovanni Leoni set to be sidelined for the best part of a year. He has torn his ACL, Arne Slot confirmed today.
"Being so young, coming to a new country, playing so well in your first game, it is very hard to take," Slot said. "You always try to look at the positive side and that is that he is still so young that he has so many still to go after he recovers."
Liverpool.com says: There can be no doubt that the Club World Cup's impact will be felt at some point. Is that behind the current Chelsea injuries? It's impossible to say for sure, but you can't just play matches non-stop with no break and not expect to either be fatigued or pick up more muscle issues.
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