Alejandro Garnacho and Pedro Neto suffered knocks ahead of Chelsea’s clash against Nottingham Forest, football.london understands. Subsequently, the duo, who started the FA Cup semi-final last weekend, were left out of the matchday squad at Stamford Bridge on Monday afternoon.

Speaking to reporters at on Friday afternoon, the interim Chelsea boss claimed the victory at Wembley Stadium has lifted spirits in the dressing room. McFarlane said: “It’s always difficult when you’re not performing and not getting the results that you feel like you need and you want to push towards.

“It’s amazing how a win can change the feel and the atmosphere and the momentum with the group. They’ve been in a really good place. They’ve trained the last two days and they’ve been in a really good place, as have the staff and Cobham as a whole, so hopefully we can continue that.”

The 38-year-old will make his debut in the hot seat at Stamford Bridge this afternoon. McFarlane said: “[I’m] really looking forward to it. We’ve got a really tough game, Nottingham Forest are a really good side.

“We’ll be well prepared for it, but it’ll be a great honour to lead a game at Stamford Bridge. Obviously, I’ve been involved in games at Stamford Bridge as assistant or support staff.

“I might have a bit of a different feel leading the team. It’ll be a great honour in front of the Chelsea fans. Really looking forward to it and hoping we can put in a similar level of performance as we did at Wembley.”