Chelsea's Portugal international pair of Ricardo Carvalho and Deco are both set to miss matches for the London club through injury it was announced Monday.
Defender Carvalho is set to be out for up to a month after a knee injury forced him off 11 minutes into the club's 1-1 Premier League at home to reigning champions Manchester United at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Playmaker Deco was injured during the warm-up to that match with what the Blues said Monday was an upper thigh muscle tear and will be out "for approximately two weeks," according to a club statement.
The statement added: "A scan has shown that Caravlaho strained a medial collateral ligament in his knee. It is expected to be three-to-four weeks until the central defender is back in action."
The first game that the pair will both now miss is Wednesday's League Cup third round tie away to Premier League rivals Portsmouth.
Deco's absence is likely to be compensated for by the arrival in the near future of Brazil midfielder Mineiro, with the 33-year-old backing-up John Obi Mikel in a squad where Michael Essien is already out for six months.
Although Alex impressed after coming off the bench, Carvalho has long been regarded as a key member of Chelsea's defence.
"He is a player that is very fast and he smells when the ball is coming," Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari said of Carvalho last week. "He can read where the ball is going to be and go."
However, the former Porto defender could be back in Chelsea colours after the next international break, with the first game of his return possibly either the Champions League clash with Roma or the Premier League encounter against fellow title-contenders Liverpool.