An already injury-hit Chelsea squad was depleted further this week, when Reece James, Marc Cucurella and Robert Sanchez were all forced off during the defeat to Everton on Sunday, with the trio subsequently being ruled out for tomorrow’s match with Sheffield United at Stamford Bridge.

That has left Mauricio Pochettino upset and frustrated by the latest set-backs, revealing that he feels especially sorry for our captain James, as his injury arrived just as he seemed to be returning to full fitness after an earlier issue.

‘I prefer not to talk too much now,' said our head coach. 'I think we need to go in-depth with the situation. He is a little bit down because he was really excited to come back. How we built him back was perfect because it was step-by-step, first playing 20 minutes, then 30, 45, 60 minutes. We tried to build his confidence in a perfect way for a full recovery.

'So for him it is difficult to accept. He feels very disappointed, very frustrated, now we need to be careful in the way that we are going to talk, but also assess and try to find the best solution for him to be consistent and try to forget the injuries in the past.

'We are here to support him and to try to help. We are all thinking to try to find the best solution for him to be, first of all, as soon as possible with the group for a fully recovery, and then to try so that it does not happen the same again.’

Pochettino also admitted the loss of Sanchez will be a blow to the team, as being without your regular goalkeeper for a period of time is inevitably going to be tough.

‘You are always going to suffer when you have an injury to a player who has been our number one goalkeeper so far, it’s always a player you’re going to miss. But we have another keeper that has been working hard to be ready if this type of thing happens.

'Of course, I am very sad because we are going to lose a player maybe for a few weeks. We need to still wait and see perfectly the situation with Robert, but also with Reece and Marc. I think from the beginning we are being hit with different circumstances. This one is an important circumstance but we need to be strong because the competition doesn’t stop and we need to be ready to compete.’

However, as he already alluded to there, Mauricio is confident young goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic will be able to step into the Spaniard's shoes as he prepares to make his first competitive start for the Blues against Sheffield United, having replaced Sanchez late on at Everton for his debut.

‘Of course, I have faith in him and I have faith in all my players. He arrived at Chelsea because we believe he has great potential.

'He’s young and has come from different football, in the USA, but after four or five months working with us, it’s the moment for him to step up and feel good because we have confidence in him.

'We trust in him, his team-mates trust in him and now it’s about making his debut at Stamford Bridge. We really trust in him, that he can perform in the way we want.’

Not all of the injury news was about increasing numbers in the Cobham treatment room, though, as Pochettino was able to confirm that summer signing Christopher Nkunku is fit to be involved against Sheffield United, with another potential debut on the cards, as the Frenchman has been missing since suffering an injury in pre-season.

‘He can be involved. That is very good news for us because being involved tomorrow and being in the squad, he can start to feel the competition, to feel the Premier League, and be with his team-mates for the first time after pre-season.

'Now we need to be calm and quiet because we don’t want to put all the pressure on him. Now he needs to evolve, know the Premier League, know the competition. But it’s a big motivation also for us, for his team-mates and for our fans to see a player who should be important for us in the squad for the first time of the season.’