Morata, Fabregas ruled out for League Cup tilt against Arsenal

Chelsea will be without Alvaro Morata and Cesc Fabregas for Wednesday's League Cup semi-final match against Arsenal, with manager Antonio Conte forced to take on this second leg bout without the team's leading goal scorer as well as its top midfield distributor.

"Morata and Fabregas are out, they are not available for the Arsenal game, I have to check a couple of other situations but for sure they are out," Conte told reporters, as quoted by the team's official website.

"(Morata) has a problem in his back, he's injured."

It's not the first time Morata has dealt with a back issue this season. The 25-year-old - who has 12 goals in 30 total matches this season - also missed a Premier League fixture against Huddersfield in December with a back injury.

Fabregas missed Chelsea's win over Brighton on Saturday with a reported hamstring injury. The Spanish midfielder has provided two goals and five assists in 31 matches this season.

The club also confirmed Andreas Christensen is available for selection. The Denmark international was taken off by the hour mark of the Brighton tilt with a head injury, with Conte later revealing he had suffered a "contusion."

Chelsea and Arsenal go into this second leg at the Emirates Stadium tied 0-0 on aggregate following a scoreless opening leg at Stamford Bridge on Jan. 10. That match came just one week after another iteration of this London rivalry, a 2-2 draw in league play that saw Morata criticised for missing a fair few scoring opportunities.