Chelsea have suffered a major blow with the news that captain John Terry has been ruled out of the match at Arsenal tomorrow.
Both Terry and the club expected the 35-year-old to recover from an ankle injury in time to face Arsene Wenger’s side.
But coach Antonio Conte said: “John didn't recover from his injury. He's working, working, but he didn't recover for the game against Arsenal.
“I don't know (when he will be back). In this case it's important what the player feels, the pain he feels.”
Chelsea have conceded four terrible goals in his absence in the 2-1 loss to Liverpool and 4-2 EFL Cup victory over Leicester, where they had to come from two goals down.
Gary Cahill and David Luiz, who played at centre back in both matches, are certain to start at Emirates Stadium.
Chelsea have kept just one clean sheet all season, but Conte insists it is a problem he inherited from last season and it must be removed if they are to have a hope in the title race.
When asked by Standard Sport if his defenders have a confidence problem, he added: “No, but I think that when we conceded goals, all the team conceded, not just the defenders.
“That means we must improve together to improve the defensive situation. The problem was already there last season. Chelsea conceded 53 goals last season.
“We must work a lot on this aspect. If you want to have a great championship, sure, you can't concede that many goals.
“Do opponents sense a nervousness at the back? I don't know, but if the opponents think this, they must also think that we can score a lot of goals.”
Chelsea have been boosted by the news that defender Kurt Zouma will take part in full training next week.
Zouma has been ruled out with a serious knee injury since February, but the centre half is finally on course to compete for a first team place next month.
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Conte said: “For Zouma, I hope to see him in the training sessions next week. He's in good shape and I hope to see him next week in training, to start counting on him.
“Will he play after the international break? Probably, yes. We will wait one week more.”
