Chelsea have been dealt a blow ahead of facing Leicester City in the FA Cup, with one of their star players set to miss the quarter-final tie.

Enzo Maresca’s Foxes will face Chelsea in the last-eight of the tournament at Stamford Bridge next month. Leicester beat Premier League Bournemouth in the fifth round in midweek, while Mauricio Pochettino’s Blues beat Leeds United in their fifth round tie.

But Chelsea will be missing their £100m midfielder Enzo Fernandez against City after he received his second booking in the FA Cup this season in the win over Leeds. He was cautioned for dissent, having already been booked in a previous round against Aston Villa for taking his shirt off as he celebrated scoring a goal.

His absence will be a blow to Pochettino, who admitted Chelsea were not at their best as they beat Leeds. “It wasn’t a great performance. (Leeds) were a team full of confidence, a very strong team, they are doing fantastic in the Championship,” he said.

“It was tough for us, when you concede after a few minutes. But the character we showed after in this situation, it’s a thing to learn from the team. I’m so happy. We avoided extra-time. We’re in the quarter-final which was our objective.”