Chelsea handed ANOTHER injury problem as Denis Zakaria limps off

Chelsea suffered another injury blow on a disastrous night at Craven Cottage on Thursday.

The Blues saw midfielder Denis Zakaria limp off before the hour mark in a 2-1 defeat against west London rivals Fulham.

The German joins a lengthy injury list at Stamford Bridge to add to under-pressure manager Graham Potter's woes, with on-loan forward Joao Felix sent off for a poor sliding challenge on his debut too.

Offering an update after the match, Potter said: 'The only assessment is it's at the top of the quad. He felt it when he cleared the ball. In terms of the extent, it's too early to say.'

Zakaria was able to walk off the pitch, clutching his thigh, but looked upset as he hobbled down the tunnel, indicating it could be a significant absence.

The 26-year-old, on loan from Juventus, had featured in Chelsea's last six matches and his absence will be a blow.

Last week, the club suffered a triple injury blow as Raheem Sterling and Christian Pulisic went off in the first half against Manchester City, with Mason Mount ruled out before kick-off - although Mount recovered to play 80 minutes on Thursday.

Chelsea now have ten senior players injured, with Zakaria, Sterling and Pulisic joining defenders Reece James, Wesley Fofana and Ben Chilwell, goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, N'Golo Kante, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Armando Broja on the sidelines.

Potter said after the City defeat: 'It never rains but it pours, as they say... Stability helps you improve. From the last game at Bournemouth, we lost James and Mount from the starting XI. That's the challenge that we've faced since we've been here.'