Ivanovic out for at least three weeks

Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic is expected to be sidelined for at least three weeks.

The Serbia international recently suffered a hamstring injury playing for his country against Albania and returned to London for his condition to be assessed.

Ivanovic, who has attracted criticism for his performances this season, will certainly miss Saturday’s home match against Aston Villa and could be unavailable for as long as a month.

His absence means Baba Rahman could come in at left-back with Cesar Azpilicueta moving across to right-back to replace Ivanovic.

Blues boss Jose Mourinho, who has stood by Ivanovic despite his poor displays, is also considering deploying Kurt Zouma as a right-back this weekend.