Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has shared an injury update on his squad, and they could be without one of their players until after the new year.
The Blues made light work of London rivals Tottenham in their last outing, cruising to a 1-0 win on enemy turf, and Thomas Frank’s side hardly laid a glove on them.
It was a much-needed victory for Maresca’s men, who were dispatched by newly-promoted Sunderland in their previous Premier League clash the weekend prior.
The loss at home to Regis Le Bris’ side sparked major outrage after what was a very disappointing performance, with reports in the aftermath suggesting that Maresca’s long-term Chelsea future is far from certain amid interest from Juventus.
Luckily for the Italian, Chelsea have responded to that defeat in good fashion — knocking Wolves out of the Carabao Cup via a dramatic 4-3 win at Molineux to then claim the London derby spoils.
It has been a mixed start to 25/26 for Chelsea after what was a stellar summer, having won both the Conference League and Club World Cup earlier this year, but Maresca is believed to be dissatisfied with the squad at his disposal overall.
Chelsea ended the last summer transfer window as one of England’s most lavish spenders, investing nearly £300 million in new recruits, but the west Londoners failed to shore up their centre-back options or bring in a world-class goalkeeper.
Rank
Club
Gross Spend
Sales
Net Spend
20.
Bournemouth
£136.7m
£202.5m
+£65.8m
19.
Brighton
£67.7m
£127.5m
+£59.8m
18.
Brentford
£92.8m
£152m
+£59.2m
17.
Wolves
£105.6m
£126.5m
+£20.9m
16.
Chelsea
£296.5m
£314.4m
+£17.9m
BlueCo are reportedly ready to prioritise the signing of a centre-back for Chelsea in January, but Maresca hasn’t exactly been helped by injuries and suspensions either.
Summer signing Liam Delap was missing for weeks with a hamstring problem and couldn’t play against Tottenham last weekend after his red card at Wolves.
Malo Gusto was also suspended recently, with Trevoh Chalobah, Robert Sanchez, Joao Pedro and Delap all sent off in the last 44 days alone.
Chelsea’s current disciplinary issues are a real conundrum for Maresca to solve, and it’s the last thing he needs considering their troubles with fitness issues this campaign.
Right now, Pedro Neto, Benoit Badiashile, Cole Palmer, Levi Colwill and Dario Essugo are all unavailable through injury, and Maresca might not welcome back the latter until 2026.
Chelsea could be without Dario Essugo until January
Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of their Champions League clash with Qarabag, Maresca suggests that Essugo could be out injured until January.
Essugo, who’s been called a ‘frightening’ player by members of the media like journalist Antonio Mango, hasn’t been able to showcase his best since joining Chelsea in the summer, and it’ll be a while before he gets to do so.
That being said, there is some good news.
Chelsea’s manager believes that star forward Palmer, who’s been battling a niggling groin problem since the start of the season, could return for their blockbuster European showdown against Barcelona.
Chelsea play their last game before the next international break against Wolves this weekend, and their Barça clash is scheduled to take place around three days after they return to action away to Burnley on November 22.