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Enzo Maresca said that Chelsea could be without eight players for Saturday's game against Liverpool, with talisman Cole Palmer still sidelined.
Palmer has struggled with injuries since the start of the season, pulling out of Chelsea's win over West Ham in August during the warm-up due to a groin problem. The England attacker made his return to the side last month, scoring in back-to-back games against Brentford and Bayern Munich, but limped off against Manchester United two weeks ago with a recurrence of the groin issue.
Maresca issued an update on the state of his squad in a press conference on Friday, saying: "Cole is still out. We have Trev [Chalobah] suspended. But we have seven, eight players out for tomorrow.
"I don't have any update at the moment on Cole. We have a meeting this week to see how he is, and then we (will) decide."
As well as Palmer's injury and Chalobah's suspension, Levi Colwill, Liam Delap, Dario Essugo and Tosin Adarabioyo are all out, while Wesley Fofana and Andrey Santos are doubts.
As for Liverpool, the Reds are without long-term absentee Giovanni Leoni as well as goalkeeper Alisson, who came off during the second half of Tuesday's Champions League loss to Galatasaray.
Hugo Ekitike and Federico Chiesa are doubts after sustaining niggles in recent days, with Ekitike coming off just minutes after Alisson was forced off in Turkey, and Chiesa missing the game altogether.
“Alisson is not a part of the squad tomorrow,” Slot said at his pre-game press conference on Friday. “And he’s not going to travel to Brazil as well for the national team. So, he will be out for Saturday.
“Hugo is going to train today again and let’s see where he is, and the same can be said for Federico. We have to wait and see after the session where exactly they are.”
Asked about a timescale for Alisson’s return, Slot added: “That depends also on how fast a recovery goes. So, Saturday it’s clear, he’s not going to play for Brazil, and I would be surprised if he would be there in the first game after the international break.
“But from there on, sometimes things can go a bit faster or a bit slower. It’s always difficult to say the amount of days and weeks, but for the upcoming games he will not be part of us or the Brazil team.”
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