Chelsea will be without a number of players for their Champions League clash against Qarabag on Wednesday evening, with Enzo Maresca providing an update on the squad
Enzo Maresca has confirmed Pedro Neto will miss Chelsea's clash against Qarabag in the Champions League. The Blues will be without the 25-year-old winger when they take on the Azerbaijani side at the Tofik Bahramov Stadium on Wednesday evening.
Neto was absent from training on Tuesday morning but is in contention to return to the side for the weekend clash against Wolves. The Portugal international was replaced by Estevao Willian in the closing stages of Chelsea's 1-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday night.
Speaking to journalists ahead of the west London club's 5,000-mile round trip to Baku, Maresca revealed that Neto had picked up a minor injury, reports Football London. He said: "Not a problem, just a small issue. We will try to protect him. He is not involved in tomorrow's game."
Maresca has one eye on Chelsea's clash against Wolves in the Premier League on Saturday night, and he intends to rotate the starting XI. He said: "It's an important game because it can give us three wins in a row in the Champions League.
"For sure, we need to rotate some of the players because I think we come back in London at 6am on Friday and then we have a game on Saturday. We will try to adapt and do our best."
Maresca also provided an update on Cole Palmer, who's been nursing a groin injury this season. The Chelsea midfielder was rushed back from the treatment room in September, only to aggravate the problem a week later.
Regarding whether Palmer might feature against Barcelona in the Champions League later this month, Maresca said: "We hope so [he returns for Barcelona clash] but with Cole, we try to schedule the beginning and then we need to review that.
"We go day by day with Cole. He is not taking any sessions with the team. We have Benoit Badiashile that can probably be available after the international break and for us, that is huge news."
Maresca added: "I would love to have Cole here tomorrow and for every game. Unfortunately, he's injured, but for sure, we want him back very soon."
The Chelsea manager expects a challenging encounter against Qarabag on Wednesday evening. He said: "They are a good team. They beat Benfica and Copenhagen. They were beating Bilbao and lost in the end.
"It will be a tough game for sure for different reasons," added Maresca. "As a team they are a very good team and a very intense team. The way they press, and they have worked with the same manager for many, many years. They are more intense at home. It will be a tough game."
On the long-haul trip, Maresca said: "Because of the schedule, we used yesterday to recover after Tottenham. It was important to be here [in Cobham]. We try to balance both situations; be ready for the game and recover all the energy knowing about the flight. We will stay on English time."
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