Thomas Tuchel is hoping to welcome back Chelsea midfielder N'Golo Kante for their Premier League derby against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday afternoon.
The 30-year-old has been suffering from injury of late after aggravating his ankle problem against Liverpool prior to the international break.
Kante missed the Premier League opener against Crystal Palace, before returning off the bench against Arsenal.
He went away on international duty with France despite holding an injury, however he returned to Cobham early after withdrawing from his national side.
But he couldn't get fit in time for the 3-0 win over Aston Villa and despite being back in training, Kante won't make the Champions League group opener versus Zenit St Petersburg on Tuesday night at Stamford Bridge.
Tuchel confirmed the blow, who is also without Christian Pulisic (ankle) on Tuesday.
"N’Golo had two training sessions yesterday and today but the Champions League game comes a bit too early," said Tuchel on Monday. "We don’t take the risk now, this early in the season. We decided to give him another load tomorrow in training."
But the Chelsea boss provided some positive news on the Kante injury front. He will have a day off on Wednesday and then will join the team in training on Thursday to prepare for Spurs, which could see him return to the side for the London derby in north London.
Tuchel added: "He will have a day off with all of us and rejoin team training on Thursday, Friday, Saturday to be fit and ready for the Tottenham game."
More Chelsea Coverage
More must-reads: