Jose Mourinho has confirmed the midfielder John obi Mikel will be absent from the Champions League match against Maribor on Wednesday night.

The Nigerian midfielder has largely been a second choice for the midfield positions this campaign.

The impressive duo Cesc Fabregas and Nemanja Matic have held out the first-team spot. Mikel has been used to playing regularly ever since he came to Chelsea in 2007. This is a period of adjustment for the Nigerian international, who has also not had the best of form in recent times.Injuries have also contributed to the poor form and the latest will see him miss the match against Maribor.

Mikel would have been hoping to take advantage of a game against the Danish club. Chelsea thrashed these opponents by a convincing 6-0 score in the fixture at Stamford Bridge. This result combined with the upcoming match against Liverpool could potentially see Mourinho rest a couple of important names.

Fabregas could have been one of them, which would have seenMikel get back into the first-team. As it is, he will be missing the upcoming match and could also potentially be out until the international break is over. The blues boss could also confirmed that striker Loic Remy is also a major doubt.

"Loic Remy remains out with Jose Mourinho reporting on Friday he anticipates the striker will be fit after the imminent international break. John Mikel Obi is also absent. He missed the QPR game with a small knee problem. Diego Costa has been included in the squad,” said the Chelsea manager.

The blues will be able to seal qualification to the last 16 stage of the competition with two games remaining if other results go their way. The remaining group opponents Schalke and Sporting Lisbon take on each other in the other group match.