Chelsea suffer injury blow ahead of FA Cup final

Chelsea have suffered a fresh injury blow ahead of the FA Cup final against Liverpool on Saturday.

The Blues have been on the losing side in the last two FA Cup finals, and they will be determined to come victorious this time.

Ahead of the game, they have suffered a fresh injury setback with Mateo Kovacic being substituted early against Leeds.

The Croatian was the subject of a reckless challenge from Daniel James in the 24th minute that saw him pick up a red card.

Kovacic was unable to continue after the incident, and he is now a major doubt for the FA Cup final in three days' time.

Chelsea were handed an advantage yesterday with Fabinho's injury, but that could be nullified by the absence of Kovacic.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek came off the bench to partner Jorginho on Wednesday with N'Golo Kante unavailable due to an injury.

Kante will be assessed in the lead-up to the FA Cup final.