Frank Lampard has revealed why Antonio Rudiger and Ruben Loftus-Cheek were both left out of Chelsea's 6-0 win over Barnsley in the Carabao Cup, which casts further doubt on their future after a £220 million ($280m) summer of spending.
Germany international Rudiger has since been linked with loan moves to Barcelona, Roma and AC Milan, with the Blues keen to trim one central defender from their squad.
The defender is yet to make a matchday squad this season and has dropped below Fikayo Tomori in the pecking order.