Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca is quietly hopeful that Trevoh Chalobah avoided a serious injury in Saturday's 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa in the Premier League.
The 25-year-old made his fourth start in five top-flight games since returning to the Blues from his Crystal Palace loan at Villa Park, but his race was run after just eight minutes following an apparently awkward fall.
Chalobah stayed down after a tussle with Marco Asensio and immediately grabbed his hip/lower back area, which he was still clutching as he gingerly made his way off the field.
Tosin Adarabioyo was summoned to replace the stricken Chalobah, as Chelsea let a 1-0 lead slip to fall to a 2-1 loss to the Lions, who cancelled out Enzo Fernandez's opener through an Asensio double.
Concern soon turned to a potential layoff for Chalobah, but speaking to reporters in his post-game press conference - as quoted by football.london - Maresca said that the defender was "quite good", although he is still unsure of the prognosis.
Maresca reveals Chalobah was "quite good" after Villa game
© Imago
"We will see. It's early, we will see tomorrow. He was quite good now, but I don't know," the Chelsea manager said after overseeing the Blues' third defeat from their last four Premier League games in the West Midlands.
Goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen - who kicked Robert Sanchez out of the team following a string of errors from the Spaniard - was culpable for the hosts' winner, letting Asensio's volley somehow squirm through his body and over the line in the 89th minute.
The 22-year-old has now conceded five goals in his last two Premier League starts after shipping three to Brighton & Hove Albion, and Maresca refused to guarantee that he would continue in between the sticks.
"I don't know. In this moment, it is not today's mistake that I am going to change my mind about Filip in this moment. We will see," the Italian replied when asked if Jorgensen would start the next game.
Chelsea remain sixth in the Premier League table after their latest top-flight setback, but the Blues will be expected to restore some pride in Tuesday's Stamford Bridge battle with Championship-bound Southampton.
Who might replace Chalobah in Chelsea's clash with Southampton?
© Imago
Maresca might have raised hopes of an imminent Chalobah comeback by saying that the defender was "quite good", but the tight turnaround to Tuesday's game means that he will surely have to be replaced.
Having seen out 82 minutes of the match after replacing his stricken teammate, Adarabioyo will be expected to slot into the backline if needs be, although teenage starlet Josh Acheampong is an alternative.
The 18-year-old started at centre-back in two Premier League draws with Crystal Palace and Bournemouth last month, although he has been an unused substitute in each of the Blues' last five top-flight games since.
Chelsea will not have Wesley Fofana or Benoit Badiashile back from thigh injuries for a couple of weeks yet, while Romeo Lavia, Noni Madueke, Nicolas Jackson, Marc Guiu and Mykhaylo Mudryk - serving a provisional doping ban - are also out of contention.
Ben Knapton
