Chelsea boss Rafa Benitez says his squad is short - but won't recall anyone from the two full teams they have out on-loan.

The Blues have 23 PLAYERS currently plying their trade at other clubs, including senior international stars such as Michael Essien, Romelu Lukaku, Thibaut Courtois and Kevin De Bruyne.

But Benitez said: "It is difficult for us because we play a game every three days. I don't know if we will get anyone in the transfer window. We've had conversations and now it depends on the club.

"We cannot bring back some of the players who are out on loan because we have an agreement that they will carry on for the rest of the season.

"The squad would be fine if we had everyone available. Hopefully the injured players will come back and the African Nations Cup will give us our players back sooner rather than later.

"Then we'll have to manage the squad to deal with this congestion."