Antonio Conte confirms double injury blow for League Cup semi-final including Morata

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has revealed that the club will be without the services of Spanish duo Cesc Fabregas and Alvaro Morata for Wednesday night's League Cup semi-final second-leg versus Arsenal.

Morata served a one-match suspension during the 4-0 win over Brighton, and he has now suffered a minor back problem which will sideline him for the midweek Cup outing.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Conte confirmed that Morata has joined Fabregas in the physioroom with the latter having picked up a hamstring injury against Leicester City earlier this month.

"Morata and Fabregas are out. They are not available for the Arsenal game. Then I have to check a couple of situations [with other players]," he told reporters via The Mirror.

Chelsea played out a 0-0 stalemate during the home leg of the League Cup semi-final, and they will nevertheless remain optimistic for tomorrow's game with Eden Hazard having put in a strong showing last weekend.

The likes of Thibaut Courtois and Gary Cahill have also missed the last two outings through injury, but they are expected to have late fitness tests prior to the encounter.