Chelsea to be without this player vs Brighton

Chelsea will return to action this weekend when they face Brighton in the Premier League.

Ahead of the match, the Blues manager, Graham Potter, has said Kalidou Koulibaly will for a third straight match be unavailable, after being ruled out of the game.

Koulibaly missed the Blues game vs Manchester United last weekend after he sustained a knee injury against Brentford.

While there was speculation that the former Napoli defender will be ready in time for Tuesday’s Champions League match away to Red Bull Salzburg, he was not available to play.

Ahead of the weekend match, Koulibaly has yet again failed the fitness test.

“Pretty much the same as we were against Salzburg. Mateo [Kovacic] no problem with his calf, just more fatigue.

“[Kalidou] Koulibaly, game came too soon, outside chance for Wednesday but not for tomorrow [Saturday],” Potter said in his pre-match press conference on Friday.