Chelsea FC have been hit by a double-blow during their 1-0 defeat of Reading FC in their Premiership match at the Madejski stadium on Saturday after both their star goalkeepers were badly injured in the course of the the game, with both Petr Cech and Carlo Cudicini needing urgent hospital attention after collisions.

Chelsea No.1 Petr Cech was injured in the opening minute of the first-half of the match, with the Czech Republic first-choice goalkeeper suffering severe concussion after a seemingly innocuous clash with Reading midfielder Stephen Hunt, which left the Chelsea No 1 flat out on the ground, and was immediately taken to a local hospital for tests.

Despite the dominance of Chelsea in possession, Reading pushed for the opener, but were lucky to escape conceding a goal in the 17th minute when Paulo Ferreira made a run down the right-wing and whipped in a cross which Ingimarsson headed against his own bar and out to safety.

Chelsea had a let-off themselves when Stephen Hunt forced his way past the Chelsea defenders and into the penalty area where he squared the ball to Doyle who turned well to slam a shot against the inside of the Chelsea left-hand post, leaving Cudicini standing.

The pressure from Chelsea was proving too much for Reading, and the hosts were made to pay for it in the last minute of the first-half when they fell behind to an unfortunate own goal.

The goal came for Chelsea after Reading defender Ibrahima Sonko fouled Frank Lampard on the edge of the Reading penalty box.

This was Sonko’s first booking, but things got worse for both him and his team after Lampard's free-kick deflected off Sonko – placed on the edge of the Reading wall - and then ricocheted off Ingimarsson's boot into the net for an own-goal to make it 1-0 to the visitors.

Jose Mourinho’s team took their slender lead into the half-time break, with Reading proving to be worthy Premiership opponents and not giving much space to allow the Premiership champions to play.

In a fiery second half Chelsea new-boy John Obi Mikel was sent-off for a second yellow-card in his first Premiership start for the English champions, but Reading failed to capitalise on their numerical advantage.

To make things harder for Reading, substitute Andre Bikey was also sent off in the 83rd minute for a second yellow card after a soft tackle on Chelsea striker Didier Drogba.

Chelsea, the masters of the 1-0 win, held on until injury-time, when they were struck by their second serious injury.

Reading were chasing the equaliser, and to compound Chelsea’s worries, Carlo Cudicini - who was the first-choice keeper until the arrival of Petr Cech from Rennes in 2004 - was knocked unconscious after a collision with Ibrahima Sonko in injury time of the second-half, needing extensive treatment on the pitch and being stretchered off the field without having fully come back to consciousness.

This leaves Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho with an injury headache prior to his team’s vital match against Barcelona on Wednesday.

Initial reports suggest that Cech has suffered severe concussion, with Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho knowing there are now major doubts as to whether either Cech or Cudicini will be fit in time for Chelsea's vital Champions League Group A encounter against Barcelona at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.

Third choice goalkeeper Hilário will now be likely to feature in the crucial match against the European champions, after having barely featured for Chelsea since his move from Portuguese side Nacional Madeira in July 2006.

The Portuguese keeper does have experience playing against Barcelona, with Hilário having played against them in two Champions League games for Porto against Barcelona six years ago, conceding six goals in the two legs.

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