Full Chelsea squad vs Fulham with Christopher Nkunku latest and Ben Chilwell update

It remains a case of one step forward and two steps back for Mauricio Pochettino not just one the field but also off it. His Chelsea side are looking to move up to their highest league position in well over a year when they face Fulham on Saturday but will have to do so with a still depleted squad.

Pochettino's men can climb up to seventh with a win, overtaking Manchester United and Brighton over the winter break and ahead of the weekend's other fixtures. That would, for the time being, put them just three points off sixth placed West Ham and within range of the top four at least for now.

However he will have to do it, once more, without a set of key players. Not only is the volume of absent players high but also the calibre too. Speaking ahead of the game he admitted that things with Christopher Nkunku, specifically, just aren't going to plan.

«I do worry about the situation of Nkunku,» he said. «I think it's now [been] 10 days he cannot train. We are assessing him. We don't know what's going to happen.

»I remember my press conference after this happened. It was a small issue and it complicated and it's been between eight and 10 days [since he trained]. We were waiting for him for six months and he was so close again to feeling comfortable. He started the game against Palace and of course, disappointed with that. We want him as quick as possible to be involved again."

Nkunku is set to miss his first league game since returning before the New Year but also didn't play in either cup clash against Preston or away to Middlesbrough. He and Romeo Lavia remain out once again for Chelsea.

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