AFCON, which determines the best national side in Africa, will be held in Morocco this year, between December 21, 2025, and January 18, 2026.
This means that Premier League sides will be without their African internationals for as much as four weeks through the crucial festive period.
Jackson and Senegal will look to recover from an underwhelming 2023 campaign, where they topped their group but fell to eventual champions Côte d’Ivoire in the round of 16, losing on penalties after drawing 1-1.
The month-long break to attend AFCON will not help his case either, allowing Delap the run of the festive fixtures.
Should Senegal reach the latter stages of the tournament, he could stand to miss a pair of West London derbies as well as the FA Cup third round, Chelsea’s first involvement in the competition.
While AFCON does not clash with any Champions League matchday, Chelsea’s penultimate league phase match could be held just 48 hours after the AFCON final, which would throw Jackson’s involvement into jeopardy should Senegal reach that stage of the tournament.
Which Chelsea matches will Nicolas Jackson miss while at AFCON?
December 12, 2025 – Newcastle United (a)
December 27, 2025 – Aston Villa (h)
December 30, 2025 – Bournemouth (h)
January 3, 2026 – Manchester City (a)
If Senegal progress from the group stage: January 7, 2026 – Fulham (a)
If Senegal progress from the quarter-final: January 10, 2026 – FA Cup third round
If Senegal progress from the semi-final: January 17, 2026 – Brentford (h)
