Norwich City's Premier League game against Chelsea on Thursday at Carrow Road will go ahead, confirmed the Premier League, after the government sanctioned Blues' Russian owner Roman Abramovich.

The Premier League released a statement on Thursday lunchtime, retweeted by the Canaries' official twitter account, to state the game will take place as scheduled.

The latest sanctions from the government form part of the on going response to Russian president Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.

Abramovich had already indicated he wanted to sell the club, with the 55-year-old pledging to donate all funds from a Chelsea sale into a new foundation to benefit victims of Russia's war in Ukraine.

"The government has issued an initial licence to enable Chelsea FC to continue to train, play its fixtures and fulfil its obligations for the rest of the season," a league statement read. "The league will now work with the club and the government to ensure the season will proceed as planned and in line with the government's intention."

Earlier in the day, culture secretary Nadine Dorries confirmed Abramovich's UK assets had been frozen. Chelsea will be subject to a transfer ban and be blocked from negotiating new contracts with current players.

Defenders Cesar Azpilicueta, Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen are all out of contract at the end of the season, leaving the senior trio in a state of short-term limbo.

Dorries tweeted: "Our priority is to hold those who have enabled the Putin regime to account.

"Today's sanctions obviously have a direct impact on Chelsea and its fans. We have been working hard to ensure the club and the national game are not unnecessarily harmed by these important sanctions.

"To ensure the club can continue to compete and operate we are issuing a special licence that will allow fixtures to be fulfilled, staff to be paid and existing ticket holders to attend matches while, crucially, depriving Abramovich of benefiting from his ownership of the club.

"I know this brings some uncertainty, but the government will work with the league and clubs to keep football being played while ensuring sanctions hit those intended.

"Football clubs are cultural assets and the bedrock of our communities. We're committed to protecting them."

Abramovich has led the Blues to 21 trophies in 19 years in a clean sweep of all global competitions.

But that era has been brought to a halt amid Putin and Russia's war in Ukraine.

Chelsea cannot sell any new tickets to supporters, but all tickets sold before March 10 will be honoured.

Season ticket holders can still attend matches unaffected, while refreshments can still be served at Stamford Bridge.

The sanctions are club-wide meaning all Chelsea teams, including Emma Hayes' highly-successful women's team, are affected. Chelsea matches can still be broadcast, while only existing club merchandise can be sold.

British billionaire Nick Candy was the latest high-profile business magnate to throw their hat into the ring for Chelsea's sale, amid a host of suitors for the Champions League holders.

Swiss tycoon Hansjorg Wyss and American investor Todd Boehly were also in the running, with more than 10 credible parties understood to have been compiling bids.

The Chelsea squad will continue their final preparations for Thursday's Premier League clash at Norwich as normal, but everyone at the club will now set about examining the details of the current situation.