Danny Drinkwater Ruled Out of London Derby With Illness While David Luiz Remains Sidelined

Chelsea will be without English midfielder Danny Drinkwater when they make the short trip to the London Stadium to play West Ham on Saturday.

The former Leicester man has been rather impressive since recovering from injury and getting into the side. And he is beginning to win fans over, with many Blues supporters having turned up their noses when the player was linked to Chelsea during the summer.

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Drinkwater, who started against Newcastle last weekend, has been suffering with a fever for the past three days and isn't in line to feature for the Stamford Bridge side in their next match, but it isn't clear whether or not he will be ready for Huddersfield Town on Tuesday.

As much was revealed during Antonio Conte's Friday afternoon press conference ahead of the crucial clash. The Italian also said that David Luiz is still nursing his knee injury and won't be available either, while hinting that other players could be rested.

“Luiz is out. Danny Drinkwater is out," Conte explained. "He is sick and the third day with a fever. We have to check a couple of situations. I have to check the physical condition, after all the games it is normal to check. A player might be tired."

Questioned on Luiz's future, Conte refused to be drawn into commenting, but said that he could not give a timeline for a return.

“I don’t know the right time,” he claimed. “The doctor can be more accurate. [Is Luiz happy?] I think now is not the right moment to speak about this. There are a lot of games before the transfer window and now is not the right time this is not important.”