Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount is facing a race against time to be fit for the Carabao Cup final after limping off with an ankle injury in Saturday's Club World Cup victory over Palmeiras.
Mount limped off after just 31 minutes of Saturday's final against the Brazilian side after an opposition player fell on him, and he left the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on crutches.
The initial diagnosis is that Mount will spend at least two weeks on the sidelines, with his participation in the final against Liverpool on February 27 now in doubt.
The England midfielder has suffered with ankle injuries in the past, and Blues could look to be extra cautious with him and not speed up his recovery.
Mount was replaced by Christian Pulisic in Abu Dhabi, and the American international could come in for this weekend's Premier League trip to Crystal Palace and next Tuesday's Champions League last-16 clash at home to Lille, with Mount having definitely been ruled out of both of those matches.
Speaking about Mount after the Abu Dhabi final, Blues boss Thomas Tuchel confirmed: "He was injured.
"In one of the very first scenes he made a run to the second post with Cesar Azpilicueta and they fell and his opponent fell on his ankle and he hurt his ligaments badly.
"So we’ll have to see. He came straight to me and said it does not feel good, it feels very stiff and painful, and he did not know if he can continue so we had to make the decision."
Mount's injury ironically came after he had discussed being in and out of the team prior to the Palmeiras match.
"I can’t bring myself to say that [I sometimes need a rest and can't play," he told reporters.
"I just leave it to the physios or other staff to say, he’s run that much in the games or cumulative games added up that I’ve run quite a lot and maybe it’s best to let him recover for a bit.
"But it would never come from me, no, never.
"I don’t know if I’m actually doing it with my eyes or not. But you don’t want to miss a game as a player.
"Especially missing out on a big game, it hurts. But I’m not someone to go straight away to a manager and say to a manager ‘why are you not starting me, I should be playing.’
"I’m someone who likes to show in training that I’m definitely ready to play and ready to start.
"I don’t want to miss out on any big games. It’s difficult, we have a squad to rotate, but you want to play every game of course.
"Sometimes you have to admit to yourself and go to the manager and say, ‘Look, I am feeling it a bit’ - through gritted teeth - and maybe the next game coming it’s best not to start. But I haven’t done it!"
