Chelsea injury, suspension list and return dates for Liverpool: Robert Sanchez, Christopher Nkunku updates

Chelsea are back in action on Sunday when they play host to recently-crowned Premier League champions Liverpool.

The Blues are embroiled in a hotly-contested race to finish in the top five of the table, currently sitting in fifth place and guaranteed to remain there until kickoff on Sunday.

Enzo Maresca's team warmed up for this encounter with a 4-1 victory over Djurgardens IF in the first leg of their Conference League semi-final, with the fixture on Thursday featuring a heavily-rotated starting lineup.

Here, Sports Mole rounds up Chelsea's injury and suspension news ahead of welcoming the Merseyside giants to Stamford Bridge.

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Status: Out Type of injury: Thigh Possible return date: Next season

Maresca has confirmed that Wesley Fofana will be sidelined for the remainder of the season owing to his latest fitness problem, this time another hamstring injury.

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Status: Minor doubt Type of injury: Knock Possible return date: May 4 (vs. Liverpool)

Goalkeeper Robert Sanchez was left out of the squad for the trip to Sweden having sustained a knock to his leg against Everton last weekend. However, Maresca has revealed that only two players are unavailable for Sunday - Guiu and Aaron Anselmino - with Sanchez already back in training.

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Status: Minor doubt Type of injury: Knock Possible return date: May 4 (vs. Liverpool)

Christopher Nkunku missed out against Djurgardens having picked up a knock in training. As it stands, it is yet to be determined whether the Frenchman will come back into the fold at the weekend, but it would only be on the substitutes' bench at best.

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Status: Out Type of injury: Hamstring Possible return date: Next season

Omari Kellyman took to his social media accounts on March 18 to confirm he has suffered a season-ending hamstring injury, with Chelsea looking to reintroduce the youngster into the first-team thinking next campaign.

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Status: Out Type of injury: Hamstring Possible return date: May 8 (vs. Djurgardens)

Last featuring for Chelsea on February 3, Marc Guiu is said to have been cleared to return to training. Maresca acknowledged last week that the Spaniard was 'one or two weeks' away from coming back into contention, but he has been ruled out for this fixture.

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Mykhaylo Mudryk remains suspended after a routine urine test from the attacker contained traces of banned substances.