Pedro Neto has been ruled out of Chelsea's Champions League trip to Qarabag.placeholder image
Pedro Neto has been ruled out of Chelsea's Champions League trip to Qarabag. | Getty Images
The latest Chelsea injury news and return dates as the Blues prepare for Champions League action
Chelsea picked up a huge victory last time out as Enzo Maresca’s side ran out of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with all three points thanks to Joao Pedro’s first-half strike.
Derby day victory was coupled with several huge fitness boosts, as Pedro returned after his absence during Carabao Cup victory at Wolves earlier in the week to lead the line, while fellow striking option Liam Delap had returned at Molineux but found himself quickly suspended after picking up two yellow cards to get his marching orders. The 22-year-old will be back in contention against Qarabag.
Meanwhile in midfield, Maresca opted to start first-choice pairing Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo, while Romeo Lavia was introduced off the bench, all three players having overcome injury problems earlier in the season. Wesley Fofana also started the game, his second time in the XI since recovering from concussion.
Hearing their bitter rivals Spurs booed off by their own fans at full-time will have been the final cherry on top for Chelsea, who will look forward to hopefully completing a strong week in Qarabag on Wednesday evening - following a record-long 2,500-mile trip.
Will Pedro Neto be fit to face Qarabag?
A rare blow from Chelsea’s trip to Tottenham, Pedro Neto was substituted in north London and has been ruled out of Wednesday’s match against Qarabag in the Champions League, as reported by The Standard. The winger went down off the ball with what appeared to be a calf cramp, and was swiftly replaced by Estevao.
Maresca has since confirmed that the injury is not serious, but ruled the Portuguese out of involvement midweek as his return to fitness is managed. “[It’s] not a problem, just a small issue. We will try to protect him. He is not involved in tomorrow's game,” said the Italian.
Chelsea face Neto’s former club Wolves, now managerless after the sacking of Vitor Pereira, once again on Saturday and it remains to be seen if the 25-year-old will be available to feature at Stamford Bridge. Failing that, it appears more likely that he will be back to fitness after the international break.
Cole Palmer amongst list of long-term Chelsea absentees
The Blues have a handful of players who remain out with long-term issues, targeting a return to first-team action in December or early 2026.
Cole Palmer: The Blues’ talisman has been out since September with a groin injury and is expected to be back in December, though Maresca continues to insist that the England star will not need surgery for the issue.
“Yes, absolutely [he still doesn’t need surgery]. We try just to protect Cole as much as we can and the most important thing is that,” said Maresca.
“Unfortunately, the medical staff, they are not magicians, they never know that you probably need six weeks. We hope that six weeks, they are enough, but it's a problem that we need to see step by step, week after week, but for sure he's going to be okay. He looks very good, to be honest, he looks relaxed. He's trying to recover from the injury, he's doing all the therapy that he needs to do, so he looks good.”
Benoit Badiashile: The French centre-back returned from injury against Brighton in late September but then picked up another muscle problem after making his first Premier League start of the season in the victory against Liverpool. He is also expected to return in December.
Dario Essugo: The 20-year-old midfielder suffered a thigh injury while with Portugal’s U21s in September, and was forced to undergo surgery. He has yet to make his Premier League debut for the Blues, but will hope to do so when he returns to action in early 2026.
Levi Colwill: Cobham academy graduate Colwill ruptured his ACL in pre-season and is expected to be out for much of 2025/26, with an unspecified return date likely to occur towards the end of the season.
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