Chelsea boss Antonio Conte believes his side are not going through a lucky period on the injury front.
Conte is without striker Alvaro Morata and midfielders N'Golo Kante and Danny Drinkwater, during what is a hectic period of matches ahead of the Premier League champions.
The Chelsea boss is hoping to have Morata back for the visit of Roma in the Champions League in midweek and is more concerned about his midfield.
Conte insists with seven games ahead in a short period, he has just Tiemoue Bakayoko and Cesc Fabregas for his two midfield slots, meaning he may have to at times play defenders or youngsters in the role.
"I hope to have Morata back against Roma", Conte said at a press conference.
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"Drinkwater is progressing well but is not ready yet. We must have patience with him and with this calf problem.
"With Kante we are going to do a scan next week to check his situation and if it is improving. It is a muscular problem, a hamstring problem.
"It is a big loss for us. Kante is important for our team and we don't have another player with the same characteristics.
"We are not lucky in this period.
"In this area of the field we have only Bakayoko and Fabregas.
"We approach seven games and we will have to use other players in this area, defenders, young players."
Chelsea snapped Drinkwater up from Leicester City late in the summer transfer window and the midfielder has not yet had the chance to make his mark at Stamford Bridge.
Morata meanwhile has been in fine form since landing from Real Madrid, posing a consistent goal threat.
