Kalidou Koulibaly will miss Chelsea’s next two games and be out for “a matter of weeks” with a hamstring injury, says interim manager Frank Lampard.
The Senegal centre-back, 31, picked up the injury during the Blues’ 2-0 defeat at Real Madrid in their Champions League quarter-final first leg.
He will miss Saturday’s Premier League match at home to Brighton and the return leg against Real on Tuesday.
“He is a very good, very experienced player,” said Lampard.
Left-back Marc Cucurella replaced Koulibaly in the 55th minute at the Bernabeu.
Benoit Badiashile could come in for the Brighton match, but the 22-year-old Frenchman is not registered for the Blues in Europe. Trevoh Chalobah, 23, is another option for Lampard and is in Chelsea’s European squad.
“People talk a lot about our squad but we haven’t got lots of cover in certain times and the Champions League squad is different to the Premier League squad,” said Lampard.
“Of course it is a disappointment for Koulibaly and for us, but it’s an opportunity [for others] and we carry on without him and hopefully he gets as fit as he can.”
Chelsea, who are 11th in the league, are struggling for form and have not scored a goal in their last four matches in all competitions.
Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang came on in their 1-0 loss against Wolves last weekend and Lampard hinted the 33-year-old could be involved against Brighton.
“Auba is a bit like everybody in the squad now, whether you have been starting before or not starting so much, everyone now needs to compete in training to show that you are worthy of a place,” added Lampard.
“Of course history says he has a fantastic goalscoring record so we’ll see.”
Chelsea have played three games in the last six days and some players, who have been out of the team, have had limited opportunities to impress Lampard since he returned to the club after Graham Potter was sacked.
“They can’t all play, the maths doesn’t work,” he said. “Firstly, I want to win football matches – as we’re Chelsea and that’s what’s expected of us.
“And then secondly I want to be part of a process in this period where, if players deserve to play, they get an opportunity on the pitch to show what they can do.
“Saturday will be an opportunity for some players that didn’t play in the Champions League, who possibly didn’t play at the weekend, to come in because it’s a game where we absolutely need freshness and energy as well.”
