Thibaut Courtois has added to Antonio Conte’s growing list of problems by suffering an ankle injury that is expected to rule the goalkeeper out Chelsea’s trip to Brighton. And midfielder Danny Drinkwater is also struggling to be fit, meaning Conte could be without six senior players as Chelsea look for their first Premier League victory of 2018.

Ross Barkley is set to take his place on the substitutes’ bench, but Conte admits he has been forced to rethink his plans for the Brighton game after losing Alvaro Morata and Pedro to suspension, plus Cesc Fabregas, Gary Cahill and, potentially, Courtois and Drinkwater to injury.

There could not be a worse time for the injuries and suspensions to pile up as Conte attempts to get his team back on course and guide them through an exhausting fixture list in which Chelsea are juggling a “war” to stay in the top four, along with the Carabao Cup and FA Cup, ahead of the Champions League restarting next month.

Even Chelsea’s attempts to boost Conte’s squad in the transfer market were hit by injury, as Andy Carroll’s ankle problem appears to have ruled him out of making a surprise move to Stamford Bridge. That has forced Chelsea to consider a striker who would not even be eligible for the Champions League, Roma’s Edin Dzeko, while interest in Christian Benteke or Peter Crouch could be revisited if the Blues continue to draw blanks on and off the pitch.