Jordan Henderson has been left out of the Chelsea squad to face Manchester United today due to illness.

The veteran midfielder has been a mainstay of late, playing the full duration of each of Chelsea’s last five matches in all competitions, with his most recent appearance coming in the Carabao Cup defeat by Liverpool on Wednesday night.

But his name was not listed when teams were announced ahead of kick-off at Stamford Bridge.

Club sources have told Standard Sport the player has fallen ill this week and is not well enough to play.

In his absence, a midfield pair of Romeo Lavia and Moises Caicedo has got the nod in the centre of the park.

Explaining the situation ahead of kick-off, Xabi Alonso told TNT Sports: "He is ill, no injury, but he was not feeling well yesterday, and today he had a fever."

His absence adds to Chelsea’s already considerable fitness woes. Joao Pedro, Emiliano Martinez, Maxence Lacroix, Jorrel Hato, Reece James, Jamie Gittens and Aaron Anselmino are all unavailable for this tie with issues of varying severity.

Henderson’s absence is not the only surprise on the team-sheet, with Estevao handed a rare start and Marco Palestra set to make his full Premier League debut.

On the opposite side of the halfway line, Bruno Fernandes returns to captain Manchester United after going unused in the loss to Bournemouth after he criticised Michael Carrick’s tactics in an interview.

United visit Stamford Bridge looking to snap an eight-match winless run and get their season back on track. Chelsea, meanwhile, are looking to bounce back from consecutive defeats by Tottenham and Liverpool.