Enzo Maresca confirms Chelsea star is set to be ruled out injured 'for a while' after Brighton loss

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has confirmed that Noni Madueke will be out for a while after going off injured against Brighton & Hove Albion on Friday. The winger faced a hamstring issue and had to be subbed off in the 21st minute in their Premier League clash.

After the match, Maresca shared an update on Madueke and Malo Gusto, saying (via Chelseafc.com):

"Malo is okay. Noni unfortunately has a hamstring problem so unfortunately will be out for a little while."

Gusto also came off in the match in the 65th minute and was replaced by Reece James. Madueke, meanwhile, has recorded eight goals and four assists in 28 games across competitions this season.

Chelsea, meanwhile, faced yet another disappointing defeat against Brighton at the Falmer Stadium on Friday. Kaoru Mitoma gave the Seagulls the lead in the 27th minute with a sensational goal. Yankuba Minteh (38', 63') scored a brace to complete a comfortable win for the hosts.

Brighton had also knocked the Blues out of the FA Cup fourth round last week, having won 2-1 at the Falmer Stadium. The west London side are now without a win in their last six away games across competitions with four defeats and two draws.

---

Enzo Maresca labels Chelsea's defeat against Brighton their worst performance under him

The Blues dominated possession against Brighton on Friday with 70% but failed to trouble the hosts much. Chelsea had eight attempts on goal with none being on target while the Seagulls had 13 attempts with five being on target. Enzo Fernandez's goal was disallowed in the first half for a push on Joel Veltman.

After the game, Enzo Maresca gave a damning assessment of his side's performance, saying (via Chelseafc.com):

"Probably since I arrived that is the worst performance, especially in the moment we are in. We are fourth in the league and winning tonight you can go one point from third and make the gap to the rest bigger.

"The performance is not one you want to offer, so we are very upset, and especially very sorry for the fans who were here, and in general to our fans, because in this moment you cannot offer this kind of performance with 14 games to go, now 13 games to go. In terms of desire, we need to show more."

The Blues are fourth in the Premier League standings but could drop to sixth after this weekend's games are done. They will next face Aston Villa are Villa Park on Saturday, February 22.