Chelsea defender one of five stars set to miss Carabao Cup final against Liverpool

Chelsea defender Benoit Badiashile is set to be absent for the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool this month, after suffering a groin injury.

Badiashile had to be substituted during the Blues' FA Cup win over Aston Villa with the issue, while the Standard has since reported that the 22-year-old now "faces a spell on the prolonged sidelines."

It is estimated that the centre back — who played all 90 minutes of Chelsea's recent 4-1 defeat at Anfield, giving away a penalty — will be out of action for over a month, meaning he will not to be in contention to take part in the final at Wembley on Sunday, 25 February.

Badiashile is one of five Chelsea players set to miss the showpiece event against Liverpool, with Wesley Fofana (knee), Reece James (thigh), Romeo Lavia (thigh) and Marc Cucurella (ankle) all injured and unlikely to recover in the next two weeks.

While Badiashile is not an option for Mauricio Pochettino, it looks like the Blues will be able to call upon Levi Colwill, who is nearing a return from his own injury issues and could be included in the Chelsea squad to face Crystal Palace on Monday.

Meanwhile the likes of Trevoh Chalobah and Robert Sanchez too could be fit again in time for the Carabao Cup final.

In terms of Liverpool's fitness issues ahead of the first chance at silverware this season, the Reds are set to be without Joel Matip (knee), while the likes of Thiago Alcantara, Dominik Szoboszlai, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah all face a race against time to be in contention.

Jurgen Klopp's have two more fixtures to play before the final, first taking on Brentford away on Saturday, 17 February, before hosting Luton on Wednesday, 21 February.