Mykhailo Mudryk absence for Chelsea vs Southampton explained

Mykhailo Mudryk was ruled out of Chelsea's clash against Southampton due to illness, football.london understands.

The 23-year-old, who arrived from Stamford Bridge from Shakhtar Donetsk last year, has been limited to regular football. So far this season, he has only started one Premier League game for the Blues.

However, he has been a regular in the Europa Conference League and has recorded a goal contribution in every league phase match in the competition this season, including three goals in as many fixtures in the competition. His latest wrapped up the game for Chelsea last week.

Enzo Maresca made a number of changes to the side that defeated Aston Villa 3-0 last weekend. "I have said many times we have good players and they all deserve to play and get minutes," Maresca explained.

"Since we started we are trying to share minutes no matter what the competition is. We are convinced it's the right way and we will continue like that.

"To keep up the momentum, we just have to try to do our best and go game by game."

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A win for Chelsea on the south coast will see them climb to second place and ahead of Manchester City. Even if Pep Guardiola's side return to winning ways against Nottingham Forest at home, the Blues will be two points clear of the reigning champions.

Maresca's side have enjoyed a stellar start to the campaign, having collected seven wins in 14 games so far.