Chelsea hit by major injury blow as star ruled out until after international break

Chelsea have been rocked by a major injury blow after one of their regular starters was ruled out until after the next international break.

The Blues are back in action on Friday when they take on Brighton at the AMEX and look to avenge last week's defeat by the same opponent in the FA Cup fourth round.

Despite going ahead early on through a Bart Verbruggen own goal, Chelsea were knocked out of the cup after goals from Georginio Rutter and Kaoru Mitoma turned it around for the Seagulls.

But Enzo Maresca's side will be without a key player for that fixture and potentially a minimum of five games, it has been revealed.

Nicolas Jackson was forced off in the 2-1 win over West Ham on 3 February, being substituted at half-time.

And according to Matt Law of The Telegraph, Jackson has undergone a scan - which has revealed damage to his hamstring is more severe than first thought.

Chelsea had optimism that Jackson would not be out for too long but a final scan has uncovered the true extent of the problem.

Jackson has scored nine goals this season and the west London side are poised to be without the former Villarreal man until the end of March, meaning he will likely miss games against Brighton, Aston Villa, Southampton, Leicester and Arsenal.

Chelsea's best case scenario is for Jackson to return for the clash with Spurs on April 2 but even then that is not guaranteed.

Nicolas Jackson is set for a spell on the sidelines. Image: Getty

As well as Jackson, Chelsea have their other striker Marcu Guiu out injured with an issue he sustained in the West Ham win.

Chelsea decided against signing a new frontman in January, with Christopher Nkunku deputising through the middle against Brighton and talisman Cole Palmer also an option to play as a false nine in the coming weeks.

But the injury is a huge blow ahead of a huge period in Chelsea's pursuit of Champions League football next season.

After 24 games, Chelsea occupy fourth spot on 43 points - two ahead of fifth-placed Manchester City. Fifth place could be enough to secure a Champions League spot for an English side, depending on how teams from the Premier League fare in Europe.