Chelsea vs Benfica early injury news as 9 ruled out and 1 doubt for Champions League clash

Chelsea are back in action on Tuesday night when they face Benfica in the Champions League, just a couple of months after defeating the Portuguese side in the Club World Cup. It has been a turbulent start to the season for the Blues, who have been ravaged by injuries, which have likely contributed to poor form.

Enzo Maresca’s men blew a lead to lose to Brighton over the weekend, but the Blues must pick themselves up quickly as they prepare to host Benfica, especially having lost their opener in this competition to Bayern. Benfica are also looking to bounce back here after a surprise 3-2 defeat to Qarabag. Here we round up the injury latest surrounding both teams.

Bruma - Out

Bruma is hoping to return some time in October from an Achilles injury.

Manu Silva - Out

Manu Silva is still a few weeks away from recovering from an ACL injury he suffered.

Alexander Bah - Out

Bah is also on a similar timeline after suffering an ACL rupture at near enough the same time as Silva.

Liam Delap - Out

Maresca said of Delap just over a week ago: “Liam is around 10-12 weeks, so a long way to go.”

Wesley Fofana - Doubt

Fofana missed the Brighton game with a concussion. Maresca said beforehand: “Wes suffered a concussion the other day against Lincoln [and will miss the Brighton game].” He will remain a doubt here, needing to pass concussion protocol, which has strict requirements.

Cole Palmer - Out

Maresca has confirmed that Palmer will be kept on the sidelines for a couple of weeks as a precaution. He said: “We have decided to protect Cole a little bit, in terms of his injury not getting worse. So, we decided to rest him for the next 2-3 weeks, probably until after the international break, to see whether, with rest, he can recover 100 per cent and be completely fit.”

Tosin Adarabioyo - Out

Maresca confirmed late last week: “We have Tosin injured. He will probably be out until the international break as he has a small problem with his calf.”

Levi Colwill - Out

Colwill has been ruled out for much of the season after an ACL injury. Maresca said shortly after the injury: “He is ok, aware he will be out for a long time. It’s a big loss for us. You know how important Levi has been for us last season and the way we want to play. We have said many times that we are able to create chances and attack if we’re able to build up the right way, and Levi was a huge part of our build-up.”

Dario Essugo - Out

Essugo has undergone surgery and will miss around four months of action. A club statement read: “Medical assessments confirmed surgery would be the required course of action, and Dario will now begin his recovery at Cobham, supported by the club's medical department.”

Myhailo Mudryk - Out (Suspended)

Mudryk remains suspended due to alleged doping. A statement at the time read: “We can confirm that Mykhailo Mudryk has been charged with Anti-Doping Rule Violations alleging the presence and/or use of a prohibited substance, in terms of Regulations 3 and 4 of The FA's Anti-Doping Regulations. As this is an ongoing case, we are not in a position to comment further at this time.”

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