Graham Potter has confirmed N’Golo Kante and Edouard Mendy are still unavailable for Chelsea, while two other players are expected to miss their trip to Crystal Palace through illness.
World Cup winner and influential midfielder Kante has played in only two of Chelsea’s eight games this campaign.
The 31-year-old returned to training during the international break but won’t play at Selhurst Park on Saturday as he continues to work his way back to fitness.
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The club’s first-choice goalkeeper Mendy is also sidelined for the Blues, having missed Chelsea’s last two matches through injury.
Chelsea summer signings Marc Cucurella and Chukwuemeka will also miss the club’s first Premier League game in almost a month through illness.
Asked for an update on his team on Friday, new Chelsea manager Potter said: ‘N’Golo is doing fine in terms of coming through the rehab stages. He has been on the grass with the team but he’s not in full training.
‘We have a bit of illness with Marc Cucurella and also Carney Chukwuemeka. Apart from that everyone is fit.’
The last time Chelsea played a Premier League game – against West Ham on September 3 – Thomas Tuchel was in the hot-seat at the club.
But Tuchel lost his job just days later and Chelsea quickly appointed former Brighton head coach Potter as their new manager.
Asked about the changes at Chelsea, Potter added: ‘Change is good and it’s bad. It’s challenging. It’s how you deal with it and work with it.
‘It’s well documented what’s happened in terms of ownership, the coach, different people. It’s life and how you manage it. ‘It’s more than a short term challenge, how you align the resources you have, football idea to make it successful.
‘The past, resources, history doesn’t guarantee anything in this league. There’s a lot of clubs that spend a lot of money and don’t achieve what they want to.
‘The strategy has to be clear. Life or death is a bit dramatic, it is what it is. I can’t control people’s perception. I focus on the next match, training session and how to improve the team.’
