Thomas Tuchel may consider making a change at left-back for Chelsea's Premier League fixture against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday afternoon.
On his return from a serious knee injury, Ben Chilwell came through 65 minutes against Everton last weekend and has seemingly suffered no ill-effects.
However, Tuchel said before that fixture that he does not want to over-work the England international, and new arrival Marc Cucurella could be drafted into his spot for the upcoming London derby.
The assumption had been that Mateo Kovacic would challenge Jorginho and N'Golo Kante for a place in the centre of the pitch after remaining as an unused substitute at Goodison Park.
That was until Tuchel revealed at his pre-match press conference that the Croatian would miss the game due to an issue with his knee.
The back three is expected to remain the same with Cesar Azpilicueta getting the nod over Trevoh Chalobah on the right and Kalidou Koulibaly shaking off the problems with cramp that he endured against Everton to feature on the left.
Raheem Sterling and Mason Mount will retain their places in the final third, but Kai Havertz has competition in the form of Armando Broja for the spot down the middle of the attack.
Chelsea possible starting lineup: Mendy; Azpilicueta, Silva, Koulibaly; James, Jorginho, Kante, Cucurella; Sterling, Mount; Havertz
Darren Plant
