Chelsea may face the absence of their leading goal scorer, Cole Palmer, when they travel to face Premier League leaders Arsenal on Tuesday.
Palmer currently shares the top spot as the league’s leading scorer with 20 goals.
Nevertheless, Blues manager Mauricio Pochettino indicated that the 21-year-old is facing challenges in recuperating from illness ahead of the upcoming game.
“We will see [Tuesday] morning. Today, I don’t believe he can be involved,” Pochettino said.
“Even if he is good [on Tuesday] maybe he is not in a condition to play. We hope he can recover from this situation and be involved with the team.”
Chelsea currently sit in ninth place in the Premier League, just three points behind seventh position. Palmer’s potential absence would deal a blow to their chances of securing a European qualification spot.
However, it would provide a boost to Arsenal’s ambitions of clinching their first Premier League title in 20 years.
Arsenal’s aspirations were dented by a 2-0 defeat at home to Aston Villa on April 14th, but they bounced back with a similar scoreline victory against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.
Tuesday’s match will mark Arsenal’s fourth game in a span of 10 days, yet manager Mikel Arteta maintains that the team is not being adversely affected by the rapid succession of fixtures.
He said: “We are keeping on doing what we have been doing – focusing on the next game and the task ahead, preparing really well – as we have done in the time we have had available to us.
“The boys look ready to go again.”
Asked about the prospect of facing a Blues side without the goal threat of Palmer, he added: “I have no control over that, only on my players who are available.
“Whatever they [Chelsea] put out there, when you look at the squad quality they have is great.
“They are doing very well, they have good results recently and have been playing much better than their place in the table suggests.
“It will be a tough match, for sure.”
Arsenal will be without defender Jurrien Timber as he continues his rehabilitation from a significant knee injury suffered during his debut. He is expected to feature for the Gunners’ Under-21s later this week.