Chelsea forward Tammy Abraham is not expected to be out for long with an ankle injury he picked up against Newcastle in the 2-0 win on Monday night.

The 23-year-old had to be substituted in the first half after a challenge from Jamaal Lascelles which manager Thomas Tuchel described as “reckless” after the game. The German coach even said his assistant had tried to remonstrate with officials regarding the scissor tackle, as they believed it was a penalty.

Centre-back Thiago Silva is said to be closing in on a return from a thigh muscle injury he sustained in the win against Tottenham earlier this month. Tuchel had previously stated that the Brazilian international would miss the games versus Sheffield United, Barnsley and Newcastle but was optimistic about a comeback against Southampton this weekend.

The defender is a key player for the Blues, although it must be said that the team has coped well defensively without him so far, having kept clean sheets in their last two matches, but they will be keen to have the veteran back as soon as possible.

Kai Havertz still remains a doubt for the Southampton game. The German international has not played since coming on as a substitute in the 2-0 win against Burnley at the end of last month.

Tuchel confirmed that the Newcastle clash came too soon for the 21-year-old as he recovers from a knock but, if he isn’t involved at St Mary’s this weekend, it would have been over three weeks since he last appeared for the first team.

There are no other injury concerns at the moment. It was confirmed after the Newcastle match that Edouard Mendy had simply been rested, with Kepa given his first league start since October, while Christian Pulisic and N’Golo Kante were named on the bench for tactical reasons.