Chelsea's injury curse strikes again with nine players now out for Enzo Maresca

Chelsea have been dealt yet another injury blow and now will have to navigate a way round having nine injured players, as Benoit Badiashile and Josh Acheampong were forced off the field during their 2-1 win over Liverpool.

It means that Enzo Maresca now has five central defenders unavailable for selection, with tough Premier League and Champions League clashes coming up after the international break. Elsewhere, Levi Colwill may miss the entirety of the season after undergoing ACL surgery in August, while Wesley Fofana is side-lined for the time being with concussion.

Tosin Adarabioyo is also absent until after the international break. Badiashile was pulled from the action against Liverpool at Stamford Bridge 55 minutes into the game, replaced by Romeu Lavia as Reece James slotted into the centre of defence.

Maresca's woes then continued just under 15 minutes later when Acheampong was forced to make way for Jorrell Hato after going down and receiving treatment on the field. Speaking about the scenario, former Blues ace Pat Nevin said: "This will be a real concern for Chelsea.

"They are going through centre-backs, Fofana, Tosin, Colwill, now Badiashile. The likes of [Moises] Caicedo and James can play at centre-back but it's a concern longer term."

Thankfully, Chelsea remained largely sturdy at the back to run out 2-1 winners on home soil. Caicedo opened the scoring just 14 minutes into the fixture with a thunderous strike from the edge of the box, before Cody Gakpo squared the game in the second half.

It was young Brazilian sensation Estevao Willian who stole the show for the Blues, however, clinching the winner five minutes into stoppage time to ensure Chelsea secured all three points. It's not just injury in defence that Maresca has to deal with, however.

In midfield, Andrey Santos is recovering from a knock, Cole Palmer is out with a groin injury and Dario Essugo is coming back from a thigh concern, while Liam Delap is side-lined with hamstring issues up front. However, the silver-lining is that Chalobah, Santos, Fofana, Badiashile and Acheampong should be fit to return to action after the international break.

It's just as well, as Chelsea have a tough run of fixtures in the coming months. The Blues travel to the City Ground to take on Nottingham Forest come Saturday, October 18, before they play host to Ajax in the Champions League four days later.

Maresca's side will then face Sunderland in the Premier League, before taking on Wolves in the EFL Cup. Matches with Tottenham and Qarabag then follow at the turn of November.

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