There is still no sign of Nicolas Jackson, Reece James, or Marc Guiu in Chelsea's latest set of training photos. The trio all missed Saturday night's 2-1 FA Cup fourth round defeat to Brighton.

Enzo Maresca was prepared for all three to be absent, explaining before the game that Guiu, in particular, was set for a spell on the sidelines. He went down towards the end of the comeback victory over West Ham at Stamford Bridge.

"We are still waiting," he said ahead of the first of two trips to Brighton in a week. "It doesn't look like a short injury; it looks like a long injury. Exactly how long, I don't know. Probably weeks/months, yes."

As for Jackson, he was taken off shortly after half-time in the same game, replaced by Guiu, and has been struggling for confidence and form of late. His presence was sorely missed on the south coast as a one-dimensional Chelsea side struggled to make any real inroads after Cole Palmer's gifted early opener.

Jackson went down after an early blow against West Ham but continued on until just after the break. Maresca has been hoping for the best over his first-choice forward but was left without him at the Amex Stadium.

"Nico is better [than Guiu]," he said before the match. "He could [play against Brighton] but it could be a risk but we’ll see. It doesn’t look like a long injury."

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Jackson was not included in the matchday squad and as the time counts down to a Valentine's Day return to Brighton, he is seemingly yet to make it out onto the grass at Cobham either. If he has played any part in the pre-match preparations this week then it has been deliberately kept out of the public eye.

The final new issue is Reece James. After starting the three previous league games in a row, he was left out of the cup squad as well. Maresca played down any fresh problem that could keep him out moving forward.

"It was planned," he explained after the defeat. "He is okay, he is training but is was to protect him." James is also yet to be seen on the training pitches, though, raising concerns that he has picked up a new knock or suffered a setback.

Romeo Lavia and Wesley Fofana remain unavailable for Maresca. He is also without Benoit Badiashile through injury. Mykhailo Mudryk is suspended.

Fofana and Badiashile are both working towards a return. The former has started partial training outdoors, though not with his teammates, and will be gradually introduced back when fit. Chelsea are not rushing the process with Fofana after a succession of problems.

Badiashile is closer. He is on track as expected and is also doing individual work at the Surrey-based training complex. In their place on the bench at Brighton was 19-year-old summer signing Aaron Anselmino, who was recalled from Boca Juniors over the January transfer window. Versatile left-footed defender Ishe Samuels-Smith was also called up to the squad for the first time.

Lavia is likely to be out until March at the earliest with Maresca only going as far as saying he aims to have him back for the final 10 games of the season. Both he and Badiashile are over two months removed from last playing.

Maresca will be asked about the readiness of his squad on Thursday. He is due to face the press ahead of the Premier League meeting in East Sussex and will undoubtedly be quizzed on team news.

If James and Jackson are fit then it will certainly be a boost for Chelsea but even so, not having them in training for the week is far from ideal preparation. Should they be out then the situation is even worse.

In attack, no Jackson would leave Maresca without a senior striker. Christopher Nkunku has filled the role more often than not but is far from his best when tasked with being the focal point to a team.