Carlo Ancelotti is expected to make a U-turn on signing players in January after John Terry revealed he could be out for months with a nerve problem in his leg.
The Chelsea skipper was sorely missed in Sunday's 3-0 defeat at home to Sunderland and doubts over the length of his lay-off could prompt Ancelotti into action.
Last month, the manager said he wasn't thinking of spending in the next transfer window but now he is set to start looking at bringing in a defender to shore up a suspect backline, with Roma's Philippe Mexes one of his top targets.
Ancelotti showed he had no confidence in youth prospect Jeffrey Bruma by leaving him on the bench against Sunderland even though Terry and Alex were ruled out. He played right-back Paulo Ferreira alongside Branislav Ivanovic and Sunderland took advantage of the uncertainty.
Ancelotti would prefer to sign someone else and Mexes, who is out of contract next summer, will be a cheap but experienced option.
The 28-year-old admitted at the weekend: "I'm open to all proposals. The Premier League is one of the best in the world. It is the most publicised, with the greatest players in the world. It makes you want to go there."
Terry told the Daily Mail that the pain in his leg has been troubling him since last season.
He said: "It is at a point where I can't carry on with it. I used to be able to make it through games because the adrenaline gets going and you blank the pain out, but now there really is no decision to make.
"I'm at my wits' end. I know I won't play on Saturday against Birmingham, but beyond that there are no clues. It could be weeks, it could be months."
