Chelsea still unable to put timeframe on Marc Cucurella injury, says Liam Rosenior

Liam Rosenior says he “can’t give an exact timeframe” on Marc Cucurella’s return from injury but that Chelsea captain Reece James and Cole Palmer are available to face Burnley on Saturday.

Cucurella sustained a hamstring issue in Chelsea’s 2-2 draw against Leeds United on February 10 and was taken off at half time.

The Spain international was not included in the squad for the FA Cup fourth round win against Hull City — with Jorrel Hato taking his place — and Rosenior has ruled him out of this weekend’s game at Stamford Bridge.

“I can’t give an exact timeframe on Marc,” the head coach told a news conference. “He suffered a hamstring injury just before half-time in the Leeds game.

“It’s a shame not to have Marc available but we have Jorrel (Hato) and we have Malo (Gusto) who can play on that side, so we have really good players that can cover.”

Palmer was also absent from the Hull win, having played 90 minutes against Leeds, following a groin issue. James started the FA Cup match but was taken off after 59 minutes and has missed game time due to a mixture of illness and a minor knock in recent weeks.

“With Reece and Cole, it’s based on day by day,” added Rosenior on Thursday. “In fact, it’s not just those two but how each player feels.

“At the moment they (Palmer and James) are both fully fit and both available for selection.

‘They both trained really well today and with those two players, having them in the team makes us a really strong side.”

Chelsea are fifth in the Premier League, one point behind Manchester United.