Bompastor confirmed in her press conference ahead of Thursday's match that Bright will not play Sunday, when Chelsea faces Manchester United at Bristol City's Ashton Gate in the League Cup final.

The former England defender limped off in the closing stages of Chelsea's victory over Tottenham last month after suffering a blow to her ankle, which kept her out of the wins over Liverpool and Manchester United before the recent international break. Bright has not recovered sufficiently in that time to play on Sunday, and Bompastor also does not know when she will be available again.

Speaking ahead of the final, in which Chelsea will seek to retain the title it won against Manchester City last year, Bompastor said: "Millie will not be available for the game on Sunday. It is taking a little longer than we expected. For now, I don't have any timeframe for her return."

Fortunately, Chelsea has good news regarding injuries, specifically at Bright's center back position. So, although the former Lionesses player will not be able to play in the League Cup final, Nathalie Bjorn returns for the first time since early December. Kadeisha Buchanan, who returned from a long ACL injury just before the international break, is another player who can help fill the void left by Bright.

"We worked really well with them during the international break," Bompastor said of the pair. "We were able to train with the men's academy. I want to thank them for that, because they helped us a lot to prepare the players for Sunday's game. It will be good to have those two back in the squad."

However, perhaps as a summary of Chelsea's season, at Bompastor's press conference, there was more bad news than good when it comes to injuries. Mayra Ramirez has not played all season due to a hamstring injury she suffered in preseason that required surgery, and it appears she will not set foot on the pitch again until the new campaign, after the Chelsea manager revealed she has suffered another setback in her recovery.

"Mayra was progressing well, but she suffered a new injury during her rehabilitation," Bompastor explained. "It's been a difficult season for her. I'm not sure we'll see her until the end of the season, unfortunately. She's going through a tough time mentally. It's normal. It's been a complicated season for her, with injuries, and sometimes it's difficult to explain everything.

I spoke with her yesterday. Right now, she's really down; it's normal, but everyone at the club is making sure to support her in the right way and provide her with what she needs."

Adding to the difficult task Chelsea faces in dealing with all these injuries is the absence of Ellie Carpenter and Sam Kerr for Sunday's final. Both are currently playing in the Asian Cup with Australia, which will face North Korea in the quarterfinals on Friday. While Lucy Bronze can fill Carpenter's right back position, Kerr's unavailability in the center of attack is a tough blow, given the injuries to Ramirez and Macario.

However, the Blues defeated Manchester United in their last match, despite having many of the same absences, and will hope to get an equally positive result in this rematch. Bompastor's team has fallen well short in defending the Women's Super League title this season, but there are still three trophies at stake, and winning the League Cup this weekend could be a springboard to finishing the season strong.

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