Mauricio Pochettino makes 'adaptation' admission amid Nicolas Jackson suspension decision

Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has claimed that his side have enough options to not worry about playing without striker Nicolas Jackson against Fulham on Monday night.

The Senegalese international scored the club's first goal of the entire month on Wednesday as the Blues progressed into the Last 16 of the Carabao Cup with a 1-0 win over Brighton. It marked just his second goal in a Chelsea shirt over his first eight appearances but he's set to miss the trip to Craven Cottage due to suspension.

Jackson has already picked up five yellow cards at this early stage in the season, with the 22-year-old struggling to remember players are now unable to directly confront referees about decisions they make. It leaves the Blues with Armando Broja as their only typical striker available to play but having just come back from a lengthy injury, throwing him into the deep end is unlikely to be in Pochettino's plans.

The Blues boss was honest when taking questions from reporters in his pre-match press conference on Friday, claiming that his side are able to adapt when they need to, even if they've not really shown it so far this season. «We have a few options to play with a striker and without a striker.

»We need to assess the whole squad after the game. Things appear after 48 hours and we need to see how they are and how they recover from Wednesday. But different options can be chosen.

«We were talking about that [the yellow cards] because we talk a lot between the players and us, the coaching staff. It's things you cannot stop because when you haven't played after some time, he is very anxious to score and do well, so sometimes you forget things.

Chelsea news and transfers LIVE — Ian Maatsen 'exit', Victor Osimhen statement, James