Chelsea confirm 21-year-old star is still not in training ahead of Leicester FA Cup test

Chelsea will be without Levi Colwill for the season-defining FA Cup quarter-final game against Championship side Leicester City. Colwill started the season playing at left-back but impressed his way to his favoured left-centre-back when Thiago Silva picked up an injury at Selhurst Park.

Games against Manchester City away and Liverpool at Wembley highlighted his influence as a star of the future but the 21-year-old is now battling a toe injury that is threatening to sideline him for the final run in of the campaign.

Last week Chelsea said Colwill was “beginning a rehabilitation programme” for a toe setback but there was optimism that it would not be a long-term issue. This week, they have released another statement saying 'He was undergoing a rehabilitation programme' which essentially rules him out of the FA Cup game.

Ben Chilwell who also missed the game against Newcastle due to a knee issue is back in training after seeing a specialist earlier in the week. His return provides manager Mauricio Pochettino with the options of sticking with Marc Cucurella or twisting with the former Leicester City man.

The Chelsea boss was also last night spotted at the Amex as Brighton took on AS Roma in the knockout stage of the Europa League. It however remains unclear which player the Chelsea boss was monitoring.

After the Leicester game, Chelsea will take on relegation-threatened Burnley after the international break, Manchester United at home at the beginning of next month before travelling to Sheffield.

Chelsea have definitely improved in the last few games but securing European football will boost the new project and hand the manager enough time to implement his ideas.