How bad was Garnacho for Chelsea against Sunderland?
Full Chelsea team news with Pedro Neto among the injury concerns ahead of the Champions League clash with Qarabag.
Chelsea continue their Champions League campaign on Wednesday evening when they face Qarabag in Azerbaijan – but Enzo Maresca’s side heads into the game with at least one fresh injury worry hanging over their heads.
Pedro Neto was forced off during the 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur this weekend with what appeared to be a calf injury, and the winger could be one of five players who miss out due to fitness problems.
We’ve got all the latest Chelsea team news and injury updates below, along with our prediction for Maresca’s starting line-up in Baku.
How bad is Pedro Neto’s injury for Chelsea?
Portuguese winger Neto went down off the ball with what appeared to be a calf issue with five minutes of the win over Spurs to play and had to be replaced by Estevão Willian – and it has now been confirmed that the injury was serious enough to rule Neto out of contention for Thursday’s match.
Neto missed training earlier this week and will not make the journey to Azerbaijan, but Maresca has played down the severity of the issue in his pre-match comments, telling the media that it was “not a problem, just a small issue,” adding that “we will try to protect him. He is not involved in [Thursday’s] game.”
It is not yet known whether Neto is expected to miss more time or whether he will return for Saturday’s late kick-off against Wolverhampton Wanderers, but there are no suggestions that he will be out for an extended period.
While Neto’s absence will restrict Maresca’s options in attack, he will be able to call upon Liam Delap as the striker’s three-match suspension for his red card against Wolves in the EFL Cup only applies to domestic matches. Fellow forward João Pedro is, however, one booking away from a one-match Champions League ban as he has picked up two cautions in Chelsea’s first three matches.
When will Cole Palmer be back – and who else is out?
One player who will, of course, continue to be unavailable is Cole Palmer, who is not expected to return to action until early December due to a significant groin injury. Maresca has recently told reporters that Palmer’s status has not changed since he was given a six-week time-frame for his recovery in mid-October.
Joining Palmer on the sidelines are Levi Colwill (ACL), Benoît Badiashile (muscular), and Dário Essugo (thigh). Badiashile is expected back in mid-to-late December, Essugo should return to training in January, and it remains unclear whether there is any chance that Colwill is involved at all this season. Mykhalyo Mudryk remains suspended due to alleged doping violations.
Maresca used the recent Champions League match against Ajax to rotate his squad, giving minutes to players like Filip Jörgensen, Marc Guiu and Facundo Buonanotte, and he may use the game against Qarabag as another opportunity to make changes and give some key players a rest.
Chelsea predicted line-up against Qarabag: Jörgensen; Hato, Adarabioyo, Acheampong, Gusto; Andrey Santos, Lavia; Estevão, Fernández, Gittens; Delap.
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