England winger Noni Madueke is set to remain sidelined until after the international break in late March, Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has confirmed.
The 22-year-old sustained an injury and was forced off early during Chelsea’s 3-0 loss to Brighton last week.
Maresca also noted that other injured players, including strikers Nicolas Jackson and Marc Guiu, centre-backs Wesley Fofana and Benoit Badiashile, and midfielder Romeo Lavia, are unlikely to recover in time for Chelsea’s clash with Tottenham on April 2.
“Noni [Madueke] will be out until the international break, probably,” said Maresca.
“Probably after the break we can have back most of them, almost all of them. That for us can be a big boost.”
Madueke made his England debut in September and was part of the squad for the final two Nations League matches in November.
The next international break takes place from 21-24 March, with England’s World Cup qualifiers against Albania and Latvia new boss Thomas Tuchel’s first games in charge.
Chelsea face Aston Villa in the Premier League on Saturday at 17:30 GMT.
The Blues are sixth in the top-flight table, level on 43 points with fifth-placed Bournemouth.