Noni Madueke ruled out as Chelsea look to bounce back against Aston Villa

The 21-year-old suffered a hamstring injury during Chelsea's 3-0 defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion last Friday, limping off just 20 minutes into the match.

Madueke had established himself as a regular starter under Maresca this season after originally joining Chelsea under Mauricio Pochettino in the summer of 2023.

His absence is a further setback for the Blues, who have been struggling for consistency in recent months.

"Fortunately, we don't have any additional injuries. Noni will probably be out until the international break," Maresca told Football.London.

"The rest: Nico out, Wes out, Benoit out, Romeo out, Marc Guiu out. Probably after the international break we can have most of the injuries back, hopefully all of them. For us, this can be a big boost."

Chelsea's form has dipped significantly since December, with the club winning just two of their last nine league matches.

Once considered part of the title race before Christmas, their poor run of results has seen them slip out of contention.

Maresca's side will be hoping to respond positively against Aston Villa, a team they previously defeated at Stamford Bridge earlier this season.

However, Chelsea will be without several key players for the fixture, including centre-backs Wesley Fofana and Benoit Badiashile, strikers Marc Guiu and Nicolas Jackson, as well as midfielder Romeo Lavia. 

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