Chelsea injury blow as captain Gary Cahill a doubt to face Arsenal in EFL Cup semi-final second leg

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Simon Johnson19 January 2018

Chelsea could be without Gary Cahill as they face Arsenal in the second leg of their EFL Cup semi-final on Wednesday.

The defender limped off with a muscular injury against Leicester City six days ago and has already been ruled out of the Saturday lunchtime clash with Brighton this weekend.

While Cahill is close to recovering, it seems more likely he will return in the fourth-round FA Cup tie against Newcastle on Sunday week.

The Chelsea skipper is one of four key first-team players Antonio Conte will be without for the trip to the Amex Stadium.

Cesc Fabregas is struggling with a hamstring injury picked up during training ahead of the FA Cup third-round reply win over Norwich and remains a doubt to face his former club next week.

Pedro and Alvaro Morata are both serving one-game bans after picking up two yellow cards during the shootout victory.

The former Barcelona man was cautioned during normal time for diving before a reckless challenge saw him dismissed three minutes before the end of extra time.

Morata, replacing Michy Batshuayi on 81 minutes, was shown two yellow cards in quick succession after first being booked for diving and then remonstrating with the referee for his marching orders