Southampton manager Ivan Juric has confirmed Jan Bednarek will miss out against Chelsea with fatigue.
Bednarek, who had started the previous 11 Premier League matches in a row for Southampton, was withdrawn after just 12 minutes against Brighton at the weekend.
In his absence, the division’s bottom side would go on to concede four times en route to suffering an eighth consecutive home defeat in the league.
It doesn’t get any easier for Southampton - despite Chelsea’s recent form - as they face a side that put five past them in the reverse meeting earlier in the season.
The good news with regards to Bednarek is that his issue is not serious. But despite this positive news he is unavailable for the trip to Stamford Bridge.
Speaking in the pre-match press conference, Juric said: "Bednarek will be out of this game, it’s nothing serious. Just fatigue."
Juric could hand a start to Armel Bella-Kotchap in Bednarek’s absence as he prepares to welcome back Taylor Harwood-Bellis who has been missing from the squad since the victory at Ipswich at the beginning of the month.
The defender has been stepping up his recovery and is set to be involved on Tuesday night.
"Harwood-Bellis will be in the [squad], if he trains today he could be on the bench," Juric added.
Flynn Downes is also in contention to make the Southampton matchday squad because Lesley Ugochukwu, on loan from Chelsea, is ineligible as per Premier League rules to face his parent club.
"I think Flynn [Downes] will play tomorrow,” Juric said. “He needs to do his job. He knows how I appreciate him as a player."
Ross Stewart is on the recovery trail but is set to miss out against Chelsea along with Adam Lallana, Ryan Fraser and Juan Larios.
