Chelsea are hopeful John Terry will recover from his injury in time for Saturday’s derby at Arsenal.
The Blues captain, 35, strained ligaments near his ankle joint during his team’s recent 2-2 draw at Swansea.
He missed Friday’s home defeat against Liverpool and will also be unavailable for Tuesday’s EFL Cup tie at Leicester.
But Terry will be assessed later this week to see if he is fit enough to feature against the Gunners.
Boss Antonio Conte told Chelsea TV: “I saw him outside today and he is recovering. After this game [at Leicester] we’ll see his physical condition.”
Conte criticised Chelsea’s defending after the loss to Liverpool but says he has since seen positive signs from his players.
“It’s been a good response,” said the Italian, who is expected to give debut to recent signing Marcos Alonso against the Foxes.
“We are disappointed about the defeat against Liverpool because we gave away two goals and it was our first defeat of the season.
“But during training I’ve seen the right intensity, the right commitment from the players, and now we have a very tough game against Leicester.
“It’s a big week because we face two very strong teams. Leicester won the title last season and this season they’ve shown they are a very good team.
“Arsenal are a great team that will fight for the title, so it’s a big week, but we are ready.”
This post was last modified on 20/09/2016