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Cesc Fabregas injury: Chelsea midfielder ruled out of Spain's matches against Belarus and Germany with hamstring injury

Jose Mourinho admitted he took a gamble in playing Fabregas against Liverpool and it looks to have cost the national team as he has flown back to London

Tuesday 11 November 2014 16:42 GMT

Cesc Fabregas (Getty Images)

Cesc Fabregas has been ruled out of Spain's upcoming matches against Belarus and Germany with a hamstring injury.

The Chelsea midfielder will return to London on Tuesday afternoon after undergoing tests in Madrid.

Fabregas played the whole of Chelsea's 2-1 Premier League win over Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday and was included in Spain's squad for this weekend's Euro 2016 qualifier against Belarus and the friendly against Germany next week.

However, Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said he had taken a "gamble" with Fabregas' fitness by playing him, and the tests in Spain have revealed the full extent of the injury.

Liverpool 1 Chelsea 2 - player ratings

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Liverpool 1 Chelsea 2 - player ratings

Simon Mignolet

Unlucky to be beaten by Cahill’s effort as his defence failed to clear – saved well from Hazard on a couple of occasions. 7

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Liverpool 1 Chelsea 2 - player ratings

Glen Johnson

Did well to foil Hazard on two occasions in the first-half as careless play from the Liverpool midfield left their defence exposed. 7

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Liverpool 1 Chelsea 2 - player ratings

Martin Skrtel

– Intriguing battle with Diego Costa – gave as good as he got but will ultimately feel he lost out as the Spaniard struck Chelsea’s winner. 6

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Liverpool 1 Chelsea 2 - player ratings

Dejan Lovren

Perhaps a little fortunate to return to the side after the fine performance of Kolo Toure against Real Madrid – was generally a spectator to the battle between Skrtel and Costa. 5

Reuters

Liverpool 1 Chelsea 2 - player ratings

Alberto Moreno

Struggled to cope with the double-threat of Ramires and Ivanovic but stuck to his task well despite being put under a lot of pressure. 6

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Liverpool 1 Chelsea 2 - player ratings

Emre Can

Got Liverpool off to a flyer with his deflected effort – a solid performance all round. 7

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Liverpool 1 Chelsea 2 - player ratings

Steven Gerrard

A solid but unspectacular performance from the Liverpool skipper – continues to fail to impact games as much as he would like to. 5

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Liverpool 1 Chelsea 2 - player ratings

Jordan Henderson

Perhaps suffering from burn out having been heavily relied upon in the opening months of the season – like his captain was overshadowed by Matic and Fabregas. 5

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Liverpool 1 Chelsea 2 - player ratings

Philippe Coutinho

Another industrious performance from the small Brazilian but he’ll be disappointed with how easily he was beaten by Azpilicueta for Chelsea’s second. 5

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Liverpool 1 Chelsea 2 - player ratings

Raheem Sterling

A better performance from the youngster who seemed to benefit from his midweek rest – caused Chelsea and Ivanovic in particular a lot of problems down the left flank. 7

Reuters

Liverpool 1 Chelsea 2 - player ratings

Mario Balotelli

Hard-working performance but again lacked any real quality in the final third. 5

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Liverpool 1 Chelsea 2 - player ratings

From the bench: Joe Allen

Made a couple of good surges forward but was unable to help his side equalise. 5

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Liverpool 1 Chelsea 2 - player ratings

Thibaut Courtois

Commanding performance from the Blues stopper – his ability to effortlessly pluck the ball out of the air takes so much pressure of his defence. 7

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Liverpool 1 Chelsea 2 - player ratings

Branislav Ivanovic

Looked a little vulnerable up against the pace of Raheem Sterling but provided his usual threat going forward down the right, particularly in tandem with Ramires during the first half. 6

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Liverpool 1 Chelsea 2 - player ratings

Gary Cahill

A lively day for the England centre-back – he deflected Can’s shot into his own goal before equalising for Chelsea just five minutes later. Defended well but was fortunate not to concede a penalty for a late hand-ball. 6

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Liverpool 1 Chelsea 2 - player ratings

John Terry

Commanding performance from the Chelsea captain – made number of vital blocks and headed clearances. 7

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Liverpool 1 Chelsea 2 - player ratings

Cesar Azpilicueta

Chosen by Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville as the best defender in the Premier League – the Spaniard lived up to his billing with a typically impeccable defensive play crowned with the assist for Costa’s winner. 8

Liverpool 1 Chelsea 2 - player ratings

Nemanja Matic

By far the most impressive of the central midfielders on display – dominated the middle of the pitch and gained possession for his side on countless occasions before starting attacks. 8

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Liverpool 1 Chelsea 2 - player ratings

Cesc Fabregas

Not his finest display this season – was exposed a few times defensively but and didn’t enjoy quite as much time on the ball as usual as Chelsea played more on the counter-attack. 6

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Liverpool 1 Chelsea 2 - player ratings

Ramires

Made a strong contribution on his return to the Chelsea starting XI – showed he can still be counted on to perform in big games. 7

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Liverpool 1 Chelsea 2 - player ratings

Oscar

Continues to cause all sorts of problems for the opposition in tandem with Eden Hazard – the pair are developing a near-telepathic understanding. 6

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Liverpool 1 Chelsea 2 - player ratings

Eden Hazard

Almost impossible to stop once he’s up and running – will be relieved that the chances he fluffed in the first half didn’t cost Chelsea on this occasion. 6

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Liverpool 1 Chelsea 2 - player ratings

Diego Costa

Although Drogba has done a good job in his absence, Chelsea are a different animal with this man up front – he got one good chance and rifled it into the net under pressure. 7

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Liverpool 1 Chelsea 2 - player ratings

From the bench: Willian

Replaced Ramires soon after half-time and gave a typically disciplined performance – helped to protect Ivanovic from Sterling. 5

GETTY IMAGES

A statement from the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) said: "The Chelsea midfielder has been ruled out for the games against Belarus and Germany following tests and an evaluation of his condition that was carried out this morning by the medical staff of the Spanish national team.

"The MRI done this morning in the Sanitas Clinic in La Moraleja (Madrid) showed a clear improvement with respect to the one done by his club on Sunday.

"Although the MRI discards a hamstring tear, the player continues to have discomfort and the medical team considers that his involvement in the next games would not be advisable for his complete recovery."

Picked up a hamstring injury in the 2-1 win over Liverpool (Getty Images)

The news will no doubt please Mourinho, who had asked for the 27-year-old to remain in London this weekend in order to recover.

Spain coach Vicente del Bosque has called up Villarreal midfielder Bruno Soriano has Fabregas' replacement.

Fabregas has joined Manchester City's David Silva and Barcelona's Andres Iniesta on the sidelines.

Del Bosque left out Chelsea striker Diego Costa for the upcoming games with the former Atletico star needing to rest after recent injury troubles of his own.

Spain host Belarus on Saturday before facing world champions Germany in Vigo on November 18.

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