Chelsea are set to be without injured winger Noni Madueke until after the March international break, a report has revealed.

Madueke limped off early in Chelsea's 3-0 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion last week, with manager Enzo Maresca quickly admitting he feared the winger could be on the sidelines for a while.

Now, The Telegraph have revealed Madueke will remain out of action until after the international break towards the end of March.

While news of Madueke's absence is an obvious blow to Chelsea, there is believed to be some confidence that he has avoided a significant injury and will not need an extended recovery period as was initially feared.

Madueke joins striker Nicolas Jackson on the sidelines until after March's international break, while fellow forward Marc Guiu completes a trio of hamstring injuries. There are concerns the latter could miss "several weeks or even months", according to Maresca.

Chelsea are currently in the midst of a miserable run of form and the loss of Madueke will not help Maresca's bid to stop their slump. Christopher Nkunku, Jadon Sancho, Pedro Neto and Tyrique George are the only senior options available to line up alongside Cole Palmer in Chelsea's attacking line.

Before the March international break, Chelsea have games against Aston Villa, Southampton, Leicester City and Arsenal, with Tottenham Hotspur their first opponent back on 2 April.

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