N'Golo Kante and Alvaro Morata unlikely to be fit for Chelsea's game against Crystal Palace

Chelsea are set to be without two of their key players for their clash against Crystal Palace on Saturday (14 October) following injuries to N'Golo Kante and Alvaro Morata.

The former suffered an injury during France's match against Bulgaria on Saturday (7 October). He was substituted after 34 minutes with a muscle injury and is most likely set to miss the weekend clash at Selhurst Park.

According to Goal, Kante returned to Chelsea to further assess his injury after an initial scan revealed that he had suffered a tear in his left thigh. The report claims that he will be sidelined for at least three weeks, that is the worst case scenario, but he could return sooner if it is not as serious.

The French midfielder has been a key part of the first-team since his arrival from Leicester City last summer. He played a key role in the Blues' title triumph last season including winning the PFA Player of the Year award.

Conte, however, is not short of options in midfield with Tiemoue Bakayoko and Cesc Fabregas available for the upcoming games. According to the Guardian, Danny Drinkwater is also on his way back from a calf injury which has prevented him from making his Chelsea debut since his £35m ($47m) move from Leicester this summer.

Morata, meanwhile, picked up a hamstring injury during Chelsea's loss to Manchester City prior to the international break. He travelled to join up with the Spain squad for their World Cup qualifier games but was diagnosed with a grade two hamstring injury.

He returned to Stamford Bridge with reports suggesting that he could be out for at least six weeks. The striker, however, was not willing to give up and has been training hard to return for the game against the Eagles.

Morata is expected to return earlier than his initial diagnosis but will not make the game against Palace with a return set for Chelsea's Champions League game against Roma next week. Michy Batshuayi is the manager's only option in terms of a striker and the Belgian could be in line for a start on Saturday.