Enzo Maresca reveals new Chelsea injury blow before Aston Villa showdown as double update delivered

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has delivered a fresh double injury update ahead of Saturday evening's blockbuster Premier League clash with Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge.

The Blues boss had already confirmed two boosts in his Christmas Eve press conference, revealing that Liam Delap and Estevao Willian were both on course to return from their issues against the Lions.

Delap has sat out Chelsea's last four games with a shoulder issue sustained in the goalless draw with Bournemouth at the beginning of the month, while Estevao missed clashes with Newcastle United and Cardiff City owing to a muscular problem.

However, the pair's returns would seemingly leave Dario Essugo (thigh), Levi Colwill (knee) and Romeo Lavia (thigh) as Chelsea's only three fitness-related absentees for the clash with Villa, although Mykhaylo Mudryk remains suspended.

New quotes emerged from Maresca on Friday evening, though, and the former Leicester City head coach revealed that young defender Jorrel Hato would also be unavailable for the festive fixture.

Chelsea injury news: Jorrel Hato ruled out of Aston Villa clash

The former Ajax man was an unused substitute in the 2-2 draw with Newcastle last weekend, and Maresca has now revealed that he sustained an unspecified problem in the warm-up.

"Hato suffered an injury during the warm-up against Newcastle, at half-time. He is out for tomorrow’s game," Maresca told reporters, without going into further detail about the severity or nature of the defender's problem.

Hato's absence will make little difference to the Blues' defensive setup, though, as it has been almost three months since the 19-year-old last made a Premier League appearance, in the 2-1 win over Liverpool in early October.

On the other side of the injury coin, Chelsea will be boosted by the return of Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, who was a notable absentee from the squad to face Newcastle at St James' Park last weekend.

Like Delap, the former Borussia Dortmund winger was also dealing with a shoulder concern, albeit a very minor one and one that he has now made a full recovery from.

"Jamie was not in the squad [vs Newcastle] because the day before, in the final training session, he had a problem in his shoulder. He is back now though and is okay for Villa," Maresca added.

Eye-catching statistic shows why Chelsea should not fear Aston Villa

A rare sight in the Premier League era, Aston Villa will head to Stamford Bridge sitting above Chelsea in the English top-flight table, occupying third place to the Blues' fourth.

Unai Emery's title chasers hold a seven-point lead over their West London counterparts, but in the three Premier League games Chelsea have played against teams above them in the table this season, they have gone unbeaten in all of them.

Maresca's men have overcome Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur and drawn with leaders Arsenal in that sequence, highlighting the Club World Cup winners' penchant for turning up in the big games this term.