Chelsea's Portuguese midfielder #07 Pedro Neto walks off after receiving a red card, during the English Premier League football match between Arsenal and Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium in London on March 1, 2026. (Photo by Adrian Dennis / AFP via Getty Images)placeholder image
Chelsea's Portuguese midfielder #07 Pedro Neto walks off after receiving a red card, during the English Premier League football match between Arsenal and Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium in London on March 1, 2026. (Photo by Adrian Dennis / AFP via Getty Images) | AFP via Getty Images
Chelsea have lost one of their key attackers to suspension on the eve of their clash versus Newcastle United.
UEFA have launched disciplinary proceedings against Neto after he pushed a ball boy during the closing stages of the Blues’ 5-2 Champions League last-16 first-leg defeat away to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday night.
But that isn’t the reason for Neto’s absence against the Magpies. Less than 24 hours before kick-off, the Portuguese was informed that he had been handed a one-match ban plus a £70,000 fine after accepting a charge of misconduct in relation to his sending off against Arsenal earlier this month.
Pedro Neto suspended for Chelsea v Newcastle United
The 26-year-old has shown two yellow cards in the space of three minutes, the first for dissent after Arsenal’s opener before being shown another booking for a foul in the 70th minute. Chelsea lost the game 2-1 at the Emirates.
Neto has already served the automatic one-match ban that resulted from his sending off as he missed Chelsea’s 4-1 win at Aston Villa. However, he’ll be forced to miss an additional game.
A FA statement read: “It was alleged that the player acted in an improper manner by failing to leave the pitch promptly and/or using abusive words towards the match official/s following his dismissal in the 70th minute.
"Pedro Neto subsequently admitted the charge against him. An independent Regulatory Commission imposed these sanctions following a hearing, and the written reasons for its decisions will be published in due course."
Chelsea injury boost ahead of Newcastle United clash
Neto’s place on the left wing could be taken by either Alejandro Garnacho or Jamie Gittens, who is back available after missing over a month with a hamstring injury.
The game, however, will come too soon for another winger in Estevo Willian.
“Jamie is back involved, which is great news,” Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior confirmed at his pre-match press conference. “Estevao is still a little bit further away. We want to be careful with Estevao because of the nature of his hamstring injury.
“The last thing we want to do is rush him back and see the injury recurring. So, we will see what he’s like for Tuesday’s game against PSG.”
Newcastle United team news ahead of Chelsea clash
Newcastle won’t welcome any players back from injury in time for the visit to Stamford Bridge, meaning Bruno Guimaraes, Lewis Miley, Fabian Schar and Emil Krafth remain sidelined.
Miley could return for Wednesday’s Champions League last-16 second-leg tie away to Barcelona, while Guimaraes and Schar are pushing to be back playing immediately after the two week international break.
Meanwhile, Eddie Howe has confirmed Anthony Gordon is OK to feature in West London after being restricted to a substitute appearance in midweek due to illness.
“Yeah, he trained yesterday, so he feels better,” Howe said on Friday. “I do have to clear something up with Anthony Gordon. He was absolutely willing to play in the game against Barcelona, and there's a lot of comments.
“It was my decision not to start him, based on the fact that he'd been ill that morning and hadn't attended the training session, so he was prepared to play, but in consultation with the medical team, we didn't think he was fit to play.”
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