Chelsea
will be without captain John Terry for Saturday's Premier League game
against Tottenham at Stamford Bridge.
The centre-back has picked up a muscular injury and will sit out the derby,
along with midfielder John Obi Mikel.
Terry has not featured for Chelsea since coming off the bench towards the
end of the 5-0 defeat of Everton on November 5 but was closing in on a
return to action.
However, he has now picked up a problem with his gluteus muscle and manager
Antonio Conte says he will be out for "two, three weeks, maybe".
Given his lack of game time, Terry featured for Chelsea's development squad
in Monday afternoon's 3-2 win over Southampton.
And Conte added: "I'm not sure if the injury was in the U23 game or the day
after."
Despite the absence of Terry, Conte has guided his team to six straight
League wins and a spot at the top of the table, but he is expecting a tough
test from their London rivals on Saturday night.
Spurs have fallen short in Europe but remain unbeaten in the Premier League
and will climb within a point of Chelsea if they win on Saturday.
Conte said: "The last game [a loss at Monaco] was a bad result for Tottenham
but tomorrow is another one and this is a special derby. It will be a great
game.
"Tottenham can create great difficulty for any team in this league, and can
fight until the end to win the title. Tottenham has a great manager,
talented players, very young, and I think they are improving. We have to pay
great attention.
"I am pushing my players to be focused, but I think they are ready."
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