It certainly hasn’t been the best few weeks on the injury front for champions Chelsea, with in-form striker Alvaro Morata side-lined first and now midfield maestro N’Golo Kante picking up a knock on duty with France.

The extent of the hamstring injury sustained by the 26-year-old powerhouse is as yet unknown but, after hobbling off during France’s narrow victory in Bulgaria, he’s almost certain to miss out at the weekend.

This will no doubt leave a few Draft Fantasy managers scratching their heads just days before Chelsea’s trip to struggling Crystal Palace – particularly if the new ‘Kante Rule’ is in play in their draft.

With Kante ruled out for Saturday – and potentially longer – who are the other viable alternatives for the Blues?

Deadline day signing Danny Drinkwater is nearing a return from injury and a first appearance under Antonio Conte since switching from Leicester City, with the England midfielder having a slim chance of making his debut at Selhurst Park, but the more likely duo to feature are Tiemoue Bakayoko and Cesc Fabregas.

If it is goal-scoring points that you are looking for ahead of the weekend, then the obvious choice would come in the form of the Spaniard, with Fabregas a more advanced midfielder than Bakayoko.

In his six Premier League appearances so far this season he’s found the net once and created 16 opportunities for his side, and that’s down to his role stationed further up the pitch in Conte’s midfield set-up.

By contrast, the £40 million summer signing from Monaco has sat deeper – almost in the box-to-box vein of Kante himself – and as such is yet to trouble the score-sheets yet in England, creating just the three chances from the same number of appearances and having little impact or time in opposition territory.

However, if you are in a draft that has the ‘Kante Rule’ enabled, then this is where Bakayoko comes into his own, with almost half of his 26 points this season (12) coming courtesy of his defensive contributions.

The 23-year-old has already made ten interceptions, eight clearances and 14 tackles this season, averaging three defensive actions per match, and it’s clear to see his strengths lie in turning over possession.

Compare this to Fabregas – who isn’t even in the top 50 when it comes to the newest innovation in fantasy football – and it renders Bakayoko a highly viable choice ahead of the visit to Selhurst Park.

For the short-term it is important to consider Chelsea’s opponents, and there are not many that will expect basement boys Crystal Palace to provide many problems for the champions on Saturday.

With that in mind, it perhaps sways the decision firmly in the favour of Fabregas, with Chelsea likely to pen the hosts inside their own half for much of the game and – based on Palace’s performances in recent weeks – it can be expected that the Blues will be able to find the net with relative ease.

Points for goals and assists firmly outweigh points gained for tackles, interceptions and recoveries, and it could come down to someone with Fabregas’ creativity to unlock Palace’s inevitable rear-guard actions.

The absence of Kante will come as a blow to many Draft Fantasy managers, currently propping up the table in terms of the ‘Kante Rule’, but in Fabregas and Bakayoko there’s two solid alternatives.

However, there is currently no player in the Chelsea squad that has come close to matching the tally of chances created that Fabregas has to his name – with Willian the next closest with ten – and the Blues’ attacking threat will no doubt once again be led by the Spaniard from the edge of the box.