LONDON -- Cesc Fabregas will miss Chelsea's Premier League clash with Southampton on Sunday as he continues his recovery from a thigh injury, head coach Antonio Conte has confirmed.
Fabregas, 29, has been sidelined for Chelsea's last three matches in all competitions after picking up a muscular problem that Conte described as "very strange" in the build-up to the 3-0 win over Premier League champions Leicester City earlier this month.
And Conte says that Fabregas is still not ready to return, though defender Branislav Ivanovic is fit again despite being omitted from Chelsea's squad for Wednesday's 2-1 EFL Cup loss against West Ham.
"The situation for injured players is the same [as pre-West Ham]," Conte told a news conference. "Fabregas is not available, and Ivanovic is fully recovered. We have all the [other] players and I have to take the best decision for the starting XI."
There is still no timeframe for Kurt Zouma's first-team return, but the Frenchman took a big step in his rehabilitation from a serious knee injury by playing his first competitive football since February in Chelsea Under-23s 2-2 draw with Derby County in the Premier League 2 on Monday.
Conte knows he will need every player at his disposal if he is to meet Chelsea's minimum objective of Champions League qualification through the Premier League this season.
Just one point separates the top five teams in the table after the first nine matches of the campaign, but while Chelsea's head coach readily admits the scale of the challenge ahead, he will not be drawn into talking about the title race at this early stage.
"This league is very difficult because anything can happen in every game," Conte said. "For this reason it's important to have continuity of results and performance, to trust in the work. Now there are five teams very close but we shouldn't look at the table.
"We must stay focused on the work on the pitch and see game by game, step by step, because it's early to talk about the table and the rivals for the title."
Asked if he thinks the Premier League is the hardest in the world to win, Conte added: "I think in this moment, sure. There is a great balance in this league. You can win but you can lose if you don't stay in the right concentration, the right focus, if you don't prepare the game in the right way. Every game is important and very difficult."