Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall missed Chelsea's Boxing Day defeat to Fulham with an injury, Enzo Maresca has revealed. The midfielder was one of several high-profile names not included in the squad for Thursday's late collapse.

Noni Madueke, who has now only started one of the last four Premier League matches - and two in five going back to the start of December - was left out for 'technical reasons.' Missing this duo, as well as Reece James, Wesley Fofana, Romeo Lavia, and Benoit Badiashile through injury, saw Maresca left struggling for options to change the game as Fulham mounted a late comeback at Stamford Bridge.

The visitors never appeared out of the game despite Cole Palmer's early opener and found their feet in the second half, especially, as Chelsea tired. For the second game in a row, Maresca left his changes late and only made one - Christopher Nkunku replacing Nicolas Jackson with just over 15 minutes left - rather than freshening things up.

READ MORE: Noni Madueke Chelsea verdict after bold Enzo Maresca squad decision backfires

READ MORE: Chelsea transfer reality becoming clearer as five-player hiatus opens door for Enzo Maresca

Fulham's substitutions worked for Marco Silva, conversely, as impact player Harry Wilson scored the equaliser before Rodrigo Muniz - also coming from the bench - won it in added time. Left with teenage forwards Tyrique George and Marc Guiu, along with the unfancied Joao Felix, Maresca struck with the bulk of a team pushed physically away to Everton in testing conditions four days earlier.

The loss, and the manner of it coupled with drawing at Goodison Park, has changed the picture of Chelsea's large squad. So far the second-choice players have been more than good enough for Conference League action but largely not trusted or used for the serious business in the Premier League.

Very few have actually gone between the two teams as Maresca settles on a core group of around 14 players to feature, leaving more than 10 out of the picture come the weekend. Dewsbury-Hall has been one of those cast aside.

At 26, and signed for £30million, he is one of the oldest players that the Clearlake Capital-Todd Boehly ownership group have paid money for since the appointment of co-sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart. That hasn't been reflected in his game time, with only five Premier League appearances to his name.

None of those have come from starts, with third-tier European action his best shot at building match sharpness. The option of introducing a senior midfielder against Fulham might have aided Maresca's attempts to manage the game for Chelsea here, though.

Likewise, the availability of Madueke (or, indeed, Renato Veiga) would have been just as appealing. Instead, Maresca turned only to his go-to change. Dewsbury-Hall was ruled out rather than not selected, though, in a fresh blow coming just days before a trip to Ipswich Town.

Chelsea might have to rotate the XI in order to maintain fitness levels at Portman Road, though, with Maresca admitting that he will consider his team. "Especially this month; I think in December, we already played eight or nine games in 25 or 27 days," he said. "So now it is also important to recover the energy and go again on Monday and then if we are going to make one change, two changes or three changes, we will see. Now it is a bit early but for sure, we are going to change something."

Maresca has also expressed his demand to keep up the standards within the squad in order to foster a positive and demanding environment. "For sure, the competition has to be high but not only Noni Madueke was out, Renato Veiga was also not in the squad, and the reason is exactly the same for both of them," he explained. "There is not any different reason."

Chelsea will be keen to see them both back on the field one way or another sooner rather than later as Maresca attempts to get back on the winning run as quickly as possible. The unexpected cost of not having fringe players available has already started to cause issues for the head coach and he will be eager to solve them immediately.