Credit: Imago

Richie Mills

Sun 26 April 2026 7:10, UK

Chelsea and Leeds United both have a number of injury concerns ahead of their FA Cup semi-final clash at Wembley.

On paper, Chelsea would be favourites for this encounter but all is not well with the Blues. They have lost five matches in a row, have failed to score in that stretch, and head coach Liam Rosenior has just been sacked.

On the flip side, Leeds are unbeaten in five, including statement wins over Manchester United and Wolves, and have zoomed away from the relegation zone.

Daniel Farke‘s side will fancy their chances on Sunday, particularly as they have taken four points from their two Premier League meetings with Chelsea this season.

Before these old foes lock horns, MOT Leeds News has provided a round-up on Leeds’ and Chelsea’s latest injury news.

Late calls for key Leeds and Chelsea stars

Following Leeds’ 2-2 draw at Bournemouth, Farke said that Ilia Gruev had been ruled out for the rest of the season with a meniscus injury.

The German also added that Jayden Bogle picked up a foot issue against the Cherries, while Sebastiaan Bornauw rolled his ankle in the warm-up.

And Anton Stach, who suffered an ankle injury in Leeds’ FA Cup quarter-final win over West Ham, may be touch and go for the Chelsea game.

When asked about Stach, Farke said on Thursday: “We have obviously a few more days and, yes, we will see. So, first step is right now to have him back in team training, rather sooner than later.

“And, of course, if a key player like him would be back in team training, then he has also a chance to be picked because he is a crucial player for us. But, yeah, let’s see how the next 72 hours will develop.”

So Gruev is definitely out for Leeds, and Stach, Bornauw and Bogle are maybes. For Chelsea, they face an anxious wait over some key personnel, too.

Reece James, Joao Pedro (both thigh injuries), Cole Palmer (hamstring), Filip Jorgensen (groin) and Jamie Gittens (hamstring) all missed Chelsea’s 3-0 loss to Brighton on Tuesday.

Estevao is out for the season with a hamstring injury, while Levi Colwill is still coming back from a knee injury. In total, Chelsea could be without seven players and Leeds may have four players unavailable.

Leeds will definitely be without Gruev, while Estevao, Jorgensen, Gittens and Colwill will not feature for the west London outfit – so five in total across both teams.

Leeds will hope records continue to tumble

After beating West Ham, Leeds made it into their first FA Cup semi-final since 1987.

When they upset Manchester United at Old Trafford earlier this month, Leeds ended a 45-year wait to win at that ground in the league.

If they can beat Chelsea, they will return to their first FA Cup final since 1973 – when they lost to Sunderland.

With Leeds being backed to stay in the Premier League, they can go all out against Chelsea as they seek to secure only their third win at Wembley in 12 attempts.