French club Lille will be without injured Renato Sanches when the team plays defending champion Chelsea on Wednesday in the second leg of the round of 16 in the Champions League.
On Tuesday Lille coach Jocelyn Gourvennec said that the Portuguese midfielder will be the only one missing for the French champions.
Sanches picked up a muscular injury in a league match against Saint-Etienne last week and is expected to be sidelined for about three weeks.
Lille trail 2-0 from the first leg at Stamford Bridge last month.
Chelsea will be coming to northern France after the club’s owner, Roman Abramovich, was slapped with sanctions for his connections with the Kremlin in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The aluminium magnate is among the wealthy Russians who had their assets frozen in Britain last week.
Under the unprecedented government action, Chelsea will operate until the end of the season with a special “Russia Regulations” license that prohibits the team from selling new tickets or merchandise, or signing new players.
Lille midfielder Benjamin Andre said that the Chelsea team will still be strong on the field despite the politics off it.
“It’s a big team, with a great coach and great players,” Andre said. “We don’t expect a mental breakdown or a drop in performance. It’s a top club, a top team against us. We will have to achieve a feat again.”
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