MAURICIO POCHETTINO’S bid to fly Nicolas Jackson into Wednesday's Premier League clash at Liverpool has been grounded.
Jackson was hoping to be whisked back to the UK after his Senegal team were knocked out of the Africa Cup of Nations on Monday night.
But despite late wrangling, no Senegal players were given permission to leave the training camp immediately after the defeat by Ivory Coast.
And that means Jackson will have no chance of joining up with his Blues team-mates in time for the 8.15pm kick off.
Chelsea booked their £35million player onto a commercial flight to Manchester which was scheduled to arrive on Wednesday morning in the hope they could get him on the bench at Anfield at least.
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Head coach Pochettino even joked that he was willing to see Jackson parachute out of the plane over the ground "If it gives us one percent more chance of winning. But i don’t know if he is brave enough to jump."
Jackson will instead take a more leisurely route home and is likely to figure in Sunday’s home Premier League clash with Wolves.
The Senegalese forward has scored eight goals and provided two assists in 23 appearances this season.
But he hit the back of the net just once in eight league matches before jetting off to Africa.
And he could be under even more pressure if Armando Broja is sold before the end of the January window.
Broja's asking price has been slashed from £50m to £40m as the Blues seek a suitor for the Albania international.
Wolves and Fulham are both understood to be interested in the forward - who has one Premier League goal this season.
Meanwhile, Chelsea’s 18-year-old Brazilian striker Deivid Washington could be allowed out on loan for the rest of the season.