Chelsea are preparing to travel to Anfield on the weekend to take on Liverpool.
After losing all of their last six Premier League matches, the Blues have slipped to ninth in the table and need a miracle to qualify for next season's Champions League, and things aren't about to get an easier.
Not only will the side be huge underdogs to get a result against Arne Slot's side, but they'll have to try to get a result without any natural left-sided attackers.
Calum McFarlane reveals extent of Chelsea's injury crisis
Following Estevao's season-ending injury, the Blues have limited options on the right. Thankfully, Cole Palmer is available and will likely fill the void. The same cannot be said for the opposite flank, though.
Jamie Gittens, Alejandro Garnacho and Pedro Neto are all out injured with Mykhailo Mudryk serving a four-year ban.
Speaking to the media ahead of Saturday's clash in Merseyside, McFarlane, as quoted by Football London, revealed the true extent of the side's injury problems.
"We've still got a lot of good players, still got a lot of players available that can impact football games.
So, we're going to have to make up some of the players we're missing in different ways, in the way that we shape the team up, but I probably don't want to go into too much detail on that right now."
The interim head coaches' bad luck could force him into an unconventional lineup that could see Joao Pedro moved out wide.
Joao Pedro should prepare for position change against Liverpool
Although McFarlane won't want to disrupt Pedro's impressive form — six goals in his last eight league matches — the Chelsea boss may not have a choice but to.
Pedro isn't a naturally left-sided attacker. During his three years at Watford and two years at Brighton, the Brazilian scored just eight goals while playing on the left wing. Only one of those goals came in the Premier League.
Unfortunately, due to the number of absentees, McFarlane may have no other option but to ask Pedro to do a job out wide while simultaneously handing Liam Delap a rare chance to impress.
There is another possible scenario that wouldn't require Delap from the start, though. Jorrel Hato could move into a move advanced position compared to his usual left-back role.
The 20-year-old has played left-wing once before but that was during Chelsea's 7-0 FA Cup demolition over Wrexham earlier this season. Hardly the same type of occasion as Liverpool away.
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