Mason Mount has been ruled out of Chelsea's Champions League clash with Juventus and journalist Paul Brown has alleged the midfielder has been playing through the pain barrier for some time.
What's the latest news involving Mount?
Mount was forced to miss Chelsea's defeat to Premier League title holders Manchester City at the weekend after picking up a knock during the Blues' Carabao Cup clash with Aston Villa.
Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel initially downplayed Mount's absence and claimed the England international suffered a "minor injury".
However, Tuchel has now confirmed Mount - along with Christian Pulisic, Reece James and N'Golo Kante - will miss tomorrow's Champions League group stage clash with Juventus after failing to recover from the setback.
Mount's unavailability will come as a huge blow to Tuchel as the 22-year-old only missed two European encounters as Chelsea got their hands on the Champions League trophy for the second time in their history last season.
He also came on as a substitute as the Blues claimed their second piece of European silverware this year by beating Villarreal to the Super Cup crown.
What has Paul Brown said about Mount's injury?
Brown believes Mount, who is valued at £67.5million by Transfermarkt, has continued featuring for Chelsea despite dealing with an injury.
The journalist claims Mount, who has made seven appearances and claimed a solitary assist so far this season, has not been at his usual best in recent weeks.
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Brown told GMS: "I was talking to a few people before their last game and there were some concerns that maybe this might be a good time for Tuchel to take him out and give him a rest.
"I suspect maybe he's been carrying that little injury for a little while.
"He didn't look quite right in the last couple of weeks."
Is Mount's injury a big blow to Chelsea?
Although he has failed to get on the scoresheet so far this season, Mount was in impressive form last term, grabbing nine goals and as many assists in 54 appearances.
His consistency culminated in being crowned Chelsea's player of the year and, despite being involved in a huge number of fixtures throughout the campaign, he went on to win five England caps as the Three Lions fell agonisingly short of winning Euro 2020.
Tuchel has not put a precise timeframe on the midfielder's injury but any team would miss a player of Mount's quality.