Chelsea Team News: Conte Confirms Double Injury Blow Ahead Of Newcastle Clash

Chelsea will be desperate to secure another win and keep the pressure on the top two when they take on Newcastle at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

Ahead of the game, Antonio Conte has been speaking to the media at his pre-match press conference this afternoon and he’s given reporters a team news and injury update.

The Blues boss confirmed a blow with the news that David Luiz is once again ruled out as the Brazilian international is still recovering from a knee injury.

The problem forced Luiz to miss the 1-0 victory over Swansea City in midweek and he’ll sit out the visit of Newcastle on Saturday but Conte refused to put a time-scale on his return.

Young attacker Charly Musonda also missed the victory over Swansea on Wednesday night due to a knee injury and has once again been ruled out of action this weekend.

However, Conte had some slightly better news on Michy Batshuayi as the striker is back in training following an ankle injury while Kenedy is also close to returning from a muscle problem.

Conte told reporters:

The Italian confirms that David Luiz and Musonda are still unavailable for the weekend, whilst Batshuayi and Kenedy have just returned to full training.

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) December 1, 2017

Conte confirms that David Luiz is having treatment for his knee injury but hasn't put a time frame on a return to action for the defender.

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) December 1, 2017

Luiz’s absence means Conte has fewer options to rotate at the back so Andreas Christensen is expected to continue alongside Gary Cahill tomorrow with Cesar Azpilicueta replacing Antonio Rudiger in the back three.

Chelsea head in to the weekend action sitting third in the table so they’ll be looking to close the gap on the top two with another victory over Newcastle tomorrow afternoon.