Enzo Maresca confirmed Noni Madueke is facing “a while” on the sidelines to add to Chelsea’s injury problems.
The Blues fell to a second defeat to Brighton in a week on Friday night, as they were beaten 3-0 in what Maresca described as the worst performance of his tenure.
Kaoru Mitoma scored a stunning opener before Yankuba Minteh netted a brace, with Chelsea failing to register a single shot on target in response.
The issues began for Maresca even before the deadlock was broken. Noni Madueke broke down the right wing and cut the ball back for Cole Palmer, who fired wide, and Madueke then stayed down holding his hamstring.
The 22-year-old limped off and was replaced by Jadon Sancho, who struggled to have an impact in his 70 minutes on the pitch.
Asked for an update on Madueke after the match, Maresca said: “Noni unfortunately it’s a hamstring problem, he will be out for a while.”
Malo Gusto required treatment in the second-half and came off with just over an hour played, but Maresca has confirmed the right-back is fine.
Madueke’s absence leaves Chelsea increasingly short in attack, with Nicolas Jackson, Marc Guiu and Mykhailo Mudryk already unavailable to the Blues boss. The club also decided to let Joao Felix join AC Milan on loan.
It leaves Sancho, Pedro Neto, Cole Palmer and Christopher Nkunku as the options for Maresca as he attempts to find a solution to his side’s attacking woes.
Chelsea registered just one shot on target across the two matches against Brighton, in a week that has piled the pressure on Maresca.
