Swansea City to be without Tammy Abraham and Federico Fernandez for Chelsea clash

Swansea City will have to make do without Tammy Abraham and Federico Fernandez for their trip to Chelsea on Wednesday (29 November) but have no fresh injury concerns ahead of the clash at Stamford Bridge.

Abraham, who is the Swans' top scorer this season with five goals in all competitions, is not permitted to play against his parent club while skipper Fernandez has returned to Argentina after learning of the death of his father.

The duo's absence will no doubt hinder Paul Clement, who is under pressure after Swansea's poor start to the new campaign, but the former Chelsea coach will at least be comforted by the fact he has no fresh injury worries to contend with as he bids to lift the troubled south Wales outfit out of the relegation zone.

"After Saturday, everyone is okay," Clement said in his press conference, per Wales Online. "We can't play Tammy Abraham against his parent club. Kyle Bartley is not far off training and hopefully he will be back in next couple of weeks. A clean bill of health otherwise.

"He [Abraham] would have been fit, he has trained well but the focus for him is the game at the weekend against Stoke. We knew when he came here he would not be able to play Wednesday, but this gives him good training time ahead of Stoke.

Asked about Fernandez's situation, Clement said: "He will not be back until the weekend which rule him out of Stoke fixture as well, will be back for West Brom fixture and be training next week."

With no Abraham or Fernandez against Chelsea the captaincy and goalscoring burden will fall solely onto the shoulders of Wilfried Bony, who has endured a rather frustrating start to his second spell at Swansea.

The Ivorian is yet to net for the Swans since returning from Manchester City and only scored twice last season for Stoke City, but Clement has been encouraged by the forward's recent displays and is counting on him to make an impact against Chelsea in the absence of Abraham.

"In the absence of Federico, who has been captain, Wilfried has stepped in and taken the armband for the first time and led the side and the line well," Clement said. "He gave us a focal point, someone who can get hold of the ball for others to get involved. He played well [against Bournemouth], he was unfortunate with the goal but if he continues to play like that I am sure he will score goals."

Asked if Bony could play for 90 minutes, Clement said: "I would like him to. With any performance, you look at tactical things and how you might adjust and individual things. It is no different with Sanches, Olsson or Mesa. We do what is best for the team."