Frank Lampard has confirmed that Reece James is out for the season and Mason Mount will have minor surgery on a pelvic bone injury.
James pulled his hamstring against Real Madrid last time out, while Chelsea have decided to fix Mount’s painful, niggling injury with surgery.
The caretaker manager confirmed they and Kai Havertz, who has a knee issue, will miss the upcoming Premier League match against Brentford.
He said: “Reece James is unavailable, probably out for the season. Mason is probably the same. There’s potential for him to be back for the last game of the season but probably not.
“That’s obviously disappointing for us. Kai [Havertz] is struggling a little bit with his knee so won’t be available tomorrow but the good news is that he should be available by the end of the week.
“It is a blow for all of us as they’re all big players. Reece had a hamstring injury that he picked up against Madrid. He got it in the game and we picked it up with scans in the following few days.
“Mason has been carrying this pelvic injury for a while and it pre-dates myself for a while. I have been trying and the medical staff have been trying.
“But it has got to the stage where he will have a minor surgery and it will probably be a four-week recovery.”
Havertz is expected back in training by the end of the week and could face Arsenal to feature in the last six games.
The Blues are 11th in the League, 11 points behind seventh-place Liverpool and unlikely to qualify for any European competition next season.
They are now recruiting a new manager and are expected to announce Mauricio Pochettino as Lampard’s successor after he leaves in the summer.
Lampard has urged his players to not give up on the season and play for both Chelsea and their own pride, snapping back when asked if the season is over: “It feels like the season is over with the tone of your questions!
“If you want to think that, yes, I don’t because I am the manager at Chelsea. I have a pride and so should the players. If you want to take it down your route that it is over so be it, but from my route, it is not over.
“It is not a given that you compete for trophies in every year of your career. It now comes down to personal pride. We’ve got seven games now and four against the top four and three away from home.
“It is a tough run-in, no doubt about that. It is a tough run of games so I am interested to see how the players react.”
Lampard was also asked about Chelsea’s manager search but refused to comment.
