Chelsea suffer huge Nicolas Jackson blow as scans reveal extent of hamstring injury | OneFootball

Chelsea have been dealt a huge blow after Nicolas Jackson was ruled out until April due to a hamstring injury.

The 23-year-old was forced off during Chelsea's 2-1 win over West Ham in the Premier League earlier this month and missed their FA Cup fourth round defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday night.

Head coach Enzo Maresca believed Jackson's injury to be minor and expected him to be in contention to face Brighton this Friday, this time in the Premier League.

"As I said yesterday or two days ago, it won't be long but we will see if he will be available for the next game," Maresca told reporters on Saturday.

But, as reported by Matt Law of the Daily Telegraph, Jackson will now be out until April following scans on his hamstring on Wednesday.

The scans revealed Jackson has suffered damage to his hamstring and he will now not be available until after the March international break, with his earliest possible return against Tottenham Hotspur, which is currently scheduled for April 2.

Maresca will now have to find solutions in the Chelsea attack. / IMAGO / Sportimage

Chelsea will now need to rely on players elsewhere in the side to bolster their attacking options. Forward Marc Guiu, who replaced Jackson against West Ham, has also been ruled out for an extended period due to injury, which has left the Blues light in attack.

Christopher Nkunku is now set for an important role leading the line for Chelsea in both the Premier League and Conference League, while Maresca has confirmed star-man Cole Palmer is able to play as a number nine.

“We have players,” Maresca said earlier this month. "Christo has played already as a nine. I had Cole playing as a nine in the past (in Manchester City’s youth set-up).

"We can find some different solutions. At the moment, we didn’t decide anything because we are still waiting for Nico and from there, we will see different options.”

Matt Law adds Chelsea remain confident Maresca and the squad can cope with the absences of Jackson and Guiu. That will now be put to the test and it begins on Friday away to Brighton.