Fulham will be without captain Tom Cairney and key defender Joachim Andersen when Chelsea travel to Craven Cottage for their Premier League opener on Monday night.
New Fulham head coach Alvaro Arbeloa delivered his latest availability update before his first competitive match in charge, with the west London derby kicking off at 8pm BST.
Cairney remains sidelined after undergoing a minor procedure on his left knee earlier this month, while Andersen must serve the final game of a suspension carried over from last season.
Fulham have officially confirmed both absences ahead of Chelsea’s visit.
Fulham vs Chelsea team news takes shape
Cairney will not recover in time for Monday.
Arbeloa indicated the midfielder could return to training after the first international break, while confirming the rest of his available squad are fit and ready for the opening fixture.
Andersen’s absence creates the more immediate selection issue.
The Denmark international was a regular at centre-back last season but is unavailable through suspension, leaving Jorge Cuenca among the obvious candidates to come into Fulham’s defence.
Chelsea therefore know they will face a Fulham side without two experienced members of its spine.
The Blues have their own selection decisions to make.
ReadChelsea has already looked at the four different roles Xabi Alonso could hand Reece James against Fulham, while the head coach has been given encouraging news over the availability of several players who returned late following the World Cup.
Supporters can also find the Fulham vs Chelsea TV channel, kick-off time and live-stream details in our existing match guide.
Arbeloa otherwise has close to a full squad available, so Chelsea should not expect an under-strength opponent.
Andersen and Cairney are significant absences, however, and Alonso will have three more days to determine how his side can exploit the changes Fulham are forced to make.
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