A number of Chelsea players were reportedly left unhappy to be left out of the squad which was named for Sunday's Premier League fixture with Tottenham Hotspur.
As a result of eight January signings - six of which have already arrived at the Blues - and just one departure, Graham Potter is working with a bloated senior crop.
The dilemmas which come associated with that have already been highlighted through the likes of Benoit Badiashile and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang not being selected for the Champions League knockout stages.
Potter has fewer criteria to meet with regards to domestic matches, although that does not mean that the Englishman has an easy ride when it comes to selection.
He has made six changes for each of the last two league matches - both of which have ended in defeat - and there were some notable absentees when his squad was selected for the derby with one of their fierce rivals.
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Trevoh Chalobah, Marc Cucurella, Carney Chukwuemeka and David Datro Fofana were all omitted from the squad for footballing reasons, the latter having made a positive impression in the defeat to the Saints before being substituted at half time.
Potter stated after the 2-0 defeat in North London that the quartet had all been "unfortunate" to be excluded from the 20 players which were named for the game.
While it has previously been alleged that there has generally been understanding for Potter's predicament when it comes to selection, The Telegraph hints that there was frustration behind the scenes.
No players are specifically named, and Cucurella has often been backed by Potter - his former boss at Brighton & Hove Albion - during what has been a difficult period for the Spaniard.
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However, Chalobah has been provided with just six minutes of football since contributing to back-to-back clean sheets versus Crystal Palace and Liverpool, the second of those matches taking place on January 21.
Chukwuemeka also featured in those fixtures, starting versus Palace and being introduced as a replacement against Liverpool, but he has not been given any minutes since the stalemate at Anfield.
Although Fofana is known to be regarded as one for the future, the Ivorian went from starting versus Southampton to being left out completely against Spurs as Potter opted to recall Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to the substitutes' bench.
Mateo Kovacic was also a surprise absentee from the squad at the weekend, but it was later revealed that his omission was due to illness.
Darren Plant
