Qarabag sweating over Dani Quintana fitness for Chelsea visit with Pedro Henrique suspended

Qarabag FK are set to make a late call on the availability of Dani Quintana ahead of their latest Champions League Group C clash with Chelsea on Wednesday (22 November).

The reigning Azerbaijani champions, making their debut in European football's elite club competition after successfully coming through three rounds of qualifying, welcome their English counterparts to Baku looking to secure a first win that would see them remain in contention for the last 16.

Qarabag boss Gurban Gurbanov will definitely be without PAOK loanee Pedro Henrique for the visit of Chelsea and a final trip to AS Roma next month after the Brazilian was sent off for a high boot on Diego Godin during the impressive 1-1 draw at Atletico Madrid in October.

However, it remains to be seen if fellow winger Quintana will be fit enough to feature.

The 30-year-old Spaniard was introduced as a late replacement for Ramil Sheydayev in Madrid and played all but 19 minutes of the subsequent Azerbaijan Premier League wins over Kapaz and Sumqayit before suffering an injury.

"Pedro Enrique will not be able to help us either in the next match, or in the last round due to suspension, but with Dani Quintana everything is fine," Azerbaijan's all-time leading scorer Gurbanov told reporters at his pre-Chelsea press conference on Tuesday, per uefa.com.

"We still have time, and a doctor will make a decision about him. At the moment, unfortunately, I can not say if Quintana will play tomorrow."

Qarabag were thrashed 6-0 by Chelsea in their opening Champions League fixture at Stamford Bridge, but have generally been a difficult opponent at home with Atletico held to a goalless draw and Roma only escaping with a narrow 2-1 win.

The club, formerly based in the southwestern city of Agdam that was abandoned in the 1990s after the Nagorno-Karabakh War, currently sit one point clear of Zira as they look to claim a fifth consecutive domestic title and a fourth successive league and cup double.

Qarabag have clearly taken great strides over recent years and will likely need to strengthen further if they are to continue competing at the highest level of European competition.

However, Gurbanov, who also replaced Robert Prosinecki as coach of the Azerbaijani national team earlier this month, is not yet allowing himself to ponder any potential transfers ahead of the winter window which opens on 13 January.

"I am not thinking about transfers yet," he said. "There is no time for that. I'm happy with the players who are in the line-up. That applies to the defenders too. Each of them is an example for other players, in training, in games, and in everyday life.

"And I don't pay attention to their ages. Yes, we have to rotate the squad, and when someone is injured or suspended, it feels that we need an even bigger squad. We need many more years to reach the standard of the top teams; we need to grow as a club."