Enzo Maresca confirms 'bad injury' as Chelsea face striker shortage for FA Cup clash | OneFootball

Both Marc Guiu and Nicolas Jackson are struggling with fitness woes

Chelsea are facing a striker shortage, with Marc Guiu set for a prolonged spell on the sidelines and Nicolas Jackson also a major doubt for Saturday’s FA Cup tie against Brighton.

Guiu and Jackson both went down injured during Monday night’s 2-1 victory over West Ham, but Enzo Maresca’s initial prognosis was that neither player was seriously injured.

The news is a major blow to Chelsea, with Maresca having talked up Guiu’s progress this season and earmarked him for a more prominent role in the second-half of the campaign.

The teenager, signed from Barcelona last summer, finished the Conference League as the league phase’s leading scorer and had notably come off the bench ahead of Christopher Nkunku when Jackson was substituted against West Ham this week.

Jackson, who has gone eight league games without a goal, has a hamstring problem but Maresca confirmed that is less serious.

“Nico is better,” he said. “He could [play this weekend] but it could be a risk but we’ll see. It doesn’t look like a long injury.”

In a further blow, Maresca suggested that midfielder Romeo Lavia is still some way off a return as his injury problems continue.

Lavia missed much of the festive period with a hamstring issue and though he briefly returned to action last month, he has since missed three league games on the bounce.

“Romeo is still in the process to come back but there's still a long way to go," Maresca added.