Chelsea star dealt huge injury blow ahead of Brighton after 4/10 performance v West Ham

Chelsea striker Marc Guiu is feared to have picked up a long-term injury during Monday night's 2-1 win over West Ham ahead of upcoming FA Cup and Premier League clashes against Brighton.

The Blues travel to the AMEX Stadium on Saturday night to face the Seagulls before returning to the south coast on Valentine's Day in top flight action. Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca is facing somewhat of a shortage of striking options for those clashes.

Guiu is believed to have picked up an abductor injury, which could rule him out for months. Speaking about the 19-year-old, Maresca said: “Marc Guiu, unfortunately, it’s a bad injury. Could be [long-term], yeah. We are still waiting but it doesn’t look a short injury. It’s a long injury. Probably weeks or months."

Enzo Maresca hit with injury worries

Guiu wasn't the only one to pick up a niggle in the win over West Ham. Nicolas Jackson also went down injured in that match with what appeared to be a hamstring problem.

Jackson's injury is not as serious as Guiu's, but could still keep him out of the FA Cup clash this weekend. Maresca said: “Nico is better. He could [play this weekend] but it could be a risk but we’ll see. It doesn’t look like a long injury.”

Jackson started the fixture against the Hammers but is now eight league games without a goal. Guiui was afforded 38 minutes from the bench on Monday night in a quiet cameo which LondonWorld awarded a 4/10.

In our player ratings from the fixture, we wrote: "Only had one real chance at scoring and found himself doing the splits rather than shooting when it came to him."

Chelsea completed the signing of 19-year-old Guiu from Barcelona last summer for £5 million with the player signing a five-year deal. The Spaniard has been used sparingly by Maresca this season but received praise for his progress from the Chelsea manager.

Guiu ‘improving a lot’ at Chelsea

Speaking at the start of February, Maresca said: "Marc is improving a lot, to be honest. He is doing fantastic. Day after day he is more ready for that kind of game. Sometimes the decision I take is because I see something. Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s not. But Marc, day after day, is more ready."

The Blues could well deploy Christopher Nkunku against Brighton in the FA Cup and Premier League, just weeks after the 27-year-old had been linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge in the January window. When asked whether he felt he has enough cover up front, Maresca said: "Yes, absolutely; before the last game, we had two strikers, Nico and Marc. Sometimes we adapt also Christo [Nkunku] there but in case both of them are out, we are going to find a different solution.

"Yes, for sure, for sure [Nkunku can play a bigger role]. I spoke already last week about Christo. Against West Ham, he played already more or less half an hour. From now on, he can hopefully get some more minutes and help us."

In other news, these are the late Deadline Day transfers from across the leagues that may have escaped your attention.