Andreas Christensen ‘trusted’ by Chelsea boss Antonio Conte to step in for suspended David Luiz

Chelsea coach Antonio Conte has confirmed he will turn to 21-year-old Andreas Christensen to fill the void in defence while David Luiz serves a three-game ban.

Luiz was shown a straight red card by referee Michael Oliver for a rash tackle on Arsenal left back Sead Kolasinac with just three minutes remaining of their goal-less draw yesterday.

It means he will miss the League Cup Third Round match against Nottingham Forest on Wednesday night, but more importantly the difficult League fixtures at Stoke and at home to leaders Manchester City respectively.

Christensen, who returned from a two-year loan at Borussia Monchengladbach this summer, has started only one game in the top flight under Conte.

But when asked if he was confident the club can cope without Luiz for the rest of the month, Conte said: "Yes. Christensen is a very young player but I think he is a good player and I trust him. Now he has the possibility to play and now he has to prepare very well to play."

Christensen has made four appearances in all for the Blues this term, three of which were in the middle of the back three where Luiz is picked.

Borussia Monchengladbach wanted to make Christensen's loan a permanent move, while other clubs inquired about his availability, but Chelsea always planned to make him a part of the first team squad this term.