Petr Cech will today discover if he faces another spell on the sidelines that could see him miss the remainder of the festive programme.
The Chelsea goalkeeper will undergo scans on a side strain sustained early in the second half of yesterday's 1-0 victory over Blackburn at Ewood Park.
An innocuous collision with striker Roque Santa Cruz led to Cech requiring lengthy treatment, and although he played on for another 11 minutes, it was obvious he was in too much pain to continue.
It led to Hilario making his first appearance since January 13 as Carlo Cudicini is also out with a training-ground rib injury.
With three games coming up in the next seven days, now is not the time for coach Avram Grant to be without two of his goalkeeping stars.
'We will know the situation with Petr when he goes for his scans,' said Grant, whose side are hanging onto the coat-tails of leaders Arsenal and second-placed Manchester United.
With captain John Terry and striker Didier Drogba also out, the Blues potentially face the next few matches without the spine of their team.
'I cannot say it will be easy if we lose Cech,' added Grant. 'To play for so long with so many injured for a long time, I don't like it, but I cannot do anything about it.
'It's fact, and we need to get through it as soon as possible like we have done in the last three months.'
