Cole Palmer is set to be out for "two to three weeks" with Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca confirming the England international needs to be rested following a groin injury.
It means he will miss the upcoming Premier League matches at home to Brighton and Liverpool as well as Wednesday's visit of Benfica in the Champions League.
"We decided to protect Cole a little bit," said Maresca. "In terms of not letting his injury get worse.
"We decided to rest him for two to three weeks until the international break to see if with that rest he can recover 100% and to be fit after the international break.
"I don't think he needs surgery but it is just to manage the pain in his groin. We have decided to be a little bit conservative with him."
The 23-year-old withdrew from Chelsea's starting line-up during the warm-up ahead of the 5-1 win against West Ham in August and subsequently missed their victory over Fulham as well as England's September World Cup qualifiers.
He returned as a second-half substitute for the 2-2 draw with Brentford, where he scored and played a leading role in earning Chelsea a point after being a goal down, then impressed with a goal in the 3-1 Champions League defeat to Bayern Munich.
However, Maresca has decided to take precautionary action to ensure Palmer's participation later in the campaign is not compromised, similar to the way Reece James' involvement was managed last season as he came back from a lengthy lay-off.
Tosin Adarabioyo is also set to be out until after the international break while Wesley Fofana will miss the Brighton match after suffering a concussion in Wednesday's Carabao Cup win at Lincoln.
It leaves Maresca short in defence, with Levi Colwill out for much of the season with an anterior cruciate ligament injury. Josh Acheampong and summer signing Jorrel Hato are likely stand-ins.
The head coach said he is not worried about his goalkeeping situation following Robert Sanchez's early red card in the defeat to Manchester United and an unconvincing display from deputy Filip Jorgensen.
Sanchez was dismissed after four minutes when he raced from his goal and fouled Bryan Mbeumo, but is available to face his former club on Saturday having served a one-match suspension in midweek.
"Robert for a long period was very good for us," said Maresca. "The last part of last season and the beginning of this season he was fantastic.
"He made a mistake against Manchester United and recognised that, I said many times that when a keeper makes a mistake or when a midfielder makes a mistake, it is exactly the same.
"We are happy with Robert, we are happy with Filip and there is not any problem with Robert."
