Mateo Kovacic has suffered a setback in his recovery from a thigh strain, putting hopes of him featuring for Chelsea against Real Madrid in doubt.
The midfielder has not played for the Blues since a 4-1 win over Crystal Palace on April 10.
He trained on Friday in the hope of perhaps being available for Saturday's Premier League clash with Fulham.
But he now looks set to miss that game and is a doubt for the second leg of the Champions League semi-final, with Chelsea holding an advantage on away goals after a 1-1 draw in Spain.
Asked about Kovacic's availability at a pre-match media conference, manager Thomas Tuchel replied: "He is still injured, he trained with us, he felt something at the end of the training so he's still not available.
"All other players are available except for Antonio Rudiger who got injured in the last minute of the Madrid game.
"Before today, before training we thought Kova had a big chance to join us at the latest for Madrid, so now we have a little setback, not a big one.
"With him I don't want to be too negative, let's see how he feels tomorrow and for Toni I'm quite positive for Wednesday."
Chelsea, who are three points clear of fifth-placed West Ham, can ill-afford to let up as they fight for a top-four finish that would secure their Champions League place for next season while aiming to win it this term.
After the Fulham game, Tuchel's men have the second leg against Madrid and then face Manchester City and Arsenal prior to the FA Cup final with Leicester City on May 15.
Tuchel conceded it can be difficult to find balance in his team amid such a hectic schedule, adding: "We are in the middle of the race, is it always easy to switch from one competition to another? No, but who cares?
"Everybody can do easy. It's our job to switch focus and it's my job to find the mix, to put the players in the right mindset and to prepare this match in the way that everybody understands the importance of the match.
"We did not work that hard, and I hope the players feel the same, they did not work that hard all these weeks, all these matches to give us this advantage just to let it slip through our hands by not being focused.
"It's [the schedule] brutal honestly. We played in France [at PSG] the same amount of games, two cups and also 20 teams in the league so we got the impression. But, of course, the intensity of the league, the challenge of the league is very, very different now here.
"It is another level, it's quite relentless. But it keeps you on your front foot and it keeps you coming out of bed early. There is simply no time to breathe, there is no time to sit back and get too relaxed or comfortable. This is a good thing, it sharpens your mind, it sharpens your mentality.
"This is what I find very impressive in this club, everybody is on the front foot, everybody in the club is fully aware of what it takes to be in shape, this is very impressive and that's why, although it's super demanding, we feel very comfortable because we arrive any game with the knowledge and deep conviction that we are prepared for this, we can perform at this level and we can adapt."
Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour in Istanbul to watch Champions League final
Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour will attend the Champions League final on Saturday evening.
Club sources have confirmed to the PA news agency that the sheikh will be present in Istanbul as City face Inter Milan bidding to win Europe’s top club prize for the first time.
It will only be the second game he has attended since his investment vehicle, the Abu Dhabi United Group, purchased City in 2008.
Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak was also due to be at the showpiece match at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium.
City have risen to become the dominant force in the English game under Mansour’s stewardship with the club having won seven Premier League titles in the past 12 years and five of the last six.
Victory in Turkey on Saturday would also see them become only the second English side to win the treble having already retained their domestic title and won the FA Cup.
City also now sit at the heart of a global network of 13 clubs known as the City Football Group.
FA and PFA study finds increased dementia risk in ex-footballers
Former professional footballers are almost three and a half times more likely to be diagnosed with dementia than the general population, according to a study commissioned by the Football Association and Professional Footballers’ Association.
First findings of the FOCUS study, conducted by the University of Nottingham, support previous research that former footballers may be at higher risk of neurocognitive disease.
The new report states that 2.8 per cent of retired professional footballers in their study reported medically diagnosed dementia and other neurodegenerative disease compared to 0.9 percent of controls.
This means former pros in the study were found to be 3.46 times more likely to have neurodegenerative diseases compared to the control group.
The study also showed retired footballers in the study were twice as likely to fall below established thresholds in some dementia testing than the general population.
Dr Charlotte Cowie, the FA’s head of medicine, told the governing body’s website: “The FA and the PFA jointly commissioned the FOCUS study in order to gain additional insight into the findings of the FIELD study, and to further examine any potential link between neurodegenerative disorders in former professional footballers.
“The FOCUS study worked with an established group of former professional footballers that were participating in research and was able to review their brain health, and it supports the previous findings in the FIELD study which suggest an increased risk for neurodegenerative disease in former professional footballers than in the general population.
“This is an extremely complex area of our game, but we are committed to working collectively with our stakeholders to help grow our knowledge in this area through further medical and expert analysis.”
The initial findings of the FOCUS study will be shared with both FIFA and UEFA, and the FA has reiterated its support for further research from across the wider game to help build a better understanding of players’ brain health and well-being.
“This is an important new study which supports previous evidence suggesting that footballers are at greater risk of dementia and poorer cognitive functioning in later life,” said the PFA’s head of brain health Dr Adam White.
“Studies such as this… ensure that targeted and evidence-led action can be identified and taken to support and protect players at all stages of their career.
“Continued investment in this type of research will remain absolutely vital.”
An FA statement read: “The FA has led the way in taking steps to help reduce potential risk factors within the game (including) establishing industry-leading concussion guidelines, introducing the world’s most comprehensive heading guidance at every level of the professional and amateur game in England, and implementing a new trial to remove deliberate heading in football matches across under-12 level and below.
“Further findings from the FOCUS study will be published in due course.”
Phil Neville joins Canada coaching staff
Phil Neville has joined the coaching staff of the Canada national team just days after leaving his role with Inter Miami.
The 46-year-old will join up as part of John Herdman’s technical team alongside Richard Shaw, and the two new additions will be part of Canada’s plans for their CONCACAF Nations League finals in Las Vegas.
Neville was relieved of his duties with Inter Miami last week with the club sitting rock-bottom of the Eastern Conference in Major League Soccer, just days before Lionel Messi was announced as their new marquee signing.
The former England Women boss will take a familiar role with another national team after leading the Lionesses to a fourth-place finish at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup and 2019 SheBelieves Cup success.
Canada reached just their second ever World Cup in 2022 and first since 1986 but exited the group stage, and now have the opportunity for their first trophy since 2000 when they play Panama in the semi-finals of the Nations League where the winners face the United States or Mexico for the trophy.
Shaw will take up a similar position to Neville and his first as part of any national team having previously been involved at Watford, Millwall and Crystal Palace.
Following the announcement, Canada boss Herman told their website: “Both Phil and Richard bring with them winning experience at the highest levels and have worked with some of the Premier League’s top managers during their careers.
“They’ll work as positional and unit coaches with the aim of helping us to win our first trophy in over two decades.”
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