Chelsea dealt second major Club World Cup blow as key man ruled out

Chelsea will be without both Levi Colwill and Liam Delap for their Club World Cup semi-final next week. Both players were booked during the dramatic 2-1 win over Palmeiras on Saturday morning.

Delap, who once more started up front, was shown a yellow card on the brink of half time for persistent fouling and will now have to relinquish his spot in the side.Nicolas Jackson could return having seen his own two-match ban for a red card picked up in the group stage loss to Flamengo end.

Joao Pedro will challenge Jackson and Delap next season. He was preferred from the bench by Enzo Maresca against Palmeiras and had a bright cameo.

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Colwill is a tougher one to replace, and it is noticeable that Benoit Badiashile was not deemed fit enough to even make it as a substitute for this game having gone off injured in the previous round's win over Benfica. He was seen on crutches after that game.

Tosin Adarabioyo could deputise next to Trevoh Chalobah, who got the nod here.Chalobah and Adarabioyo have been sharing minutes this tournament having battled well for the right centre-back spot for most of the past six months. They would usually play next to Colwill but this time will have to partner each other.

Mamadou Sarr and Aaron Anselmino have also made their debuts in America but are much more raw and junior. Josh Acheampong can also play centrally but has mainly been used as a right-back.

The good news for Maresca is that Moises Caicedo will be back again. He missed the quarter-final for his own accumulation of yellows across the first four matches.

FIFA rules are strict, allowing only two bookings before the semi-final stage. That slate is now wiped clean but for Colwill and Delap, it has come too late.

Maresca will have to find answers in his team selection without the two Englishmen.There are also question marks over Reece James and Romeo Lavia.

The pair have both struggled with injuries in the past few years. Lavia was not included in the matchday squad after small muscle problems at the end of the Benfica clash, Maresca explained.

Lavia was taken off during the storm break. James, on the other hand, was initially in the starting XI against Palmeiras but did not play the game.Andrey Santos got just his second appearance as he was called into the squad late on.

It is not yet clear what James' issue was, other than being precautionary after an injury in the warmup. This will be yet another obstacle for Maresca to overcome ahead of facing Fluminense on Tuesday.

Chelsea earned around £15million for winning their quarter-final and have taken their total prize money to over £53million so far.They will get a minimum of £20million more for reaching the final with a win over Fluminense, who got past Manchester City-killers Al-Hilal in the last-16.

That makes it imperative, both financially and on a sporting level, for Chelsea to deal with their suspensions and injuries efficiently this week.