Sports
Injury Woes For Chelsea: Four Players To Miss Servette Showdown
At least four senior players are anticipated to miss the match in Switzerland.
Our head coach will not have a full squad at his disposal as we attempt to finish the job in Geneva following our 2-0 win over Servette in the first leg of this qualifying tie at Stamford Bridge last week.
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However, the Italian confirmed there are no new serious issues with injuries, with two players already out of contention and the new additions to our absentee list being purely about managing their condition.
‘There are no fresh concerns,’ said Maresca. ‘Romeo [Lavia] is still out, Reece [James] is still out and then Pedro [Neto] and Malo [Gusto] are not involved in the squad for tomorrow, just for prevention, not for any problem.
‘Hopefully after the international break both of Reece and Romeo will be back.’
For the players who have flown with the squad for this match, Maresca has no concerns about their focus when it comes to the task ahead, with Friday’s transfer window deadline far from the minds of the players and coaches out in Switzerland, with a place in the Conference League group stage up for grabs and firmly front and centre of their attention.
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‘The most important thing for us is just to try to be focused on what we have every day in terms of the players, the squad and how we want to play and improve the team. This is the only thing we can control.
‘We have just two more days and then it’s closed so we are very close but the main focus has always been the pitch and the football side.’
That also goes for our opponents and the danger any European away tie can pose. Having seen the ability of Servette both in the first leg and their domestic matches, Maresca knows the threat they carry and isn’t worried about the Blues taking their foot off the gas despite our two-goal lead.
‘It will be a tough game, I don’t have any doubts. I don’t think complacency will be an issue after just one or two wins in a row, it is no more than that. We need to be ready because it will be a very tough game.
‘We need to be ready, we need to be motivated 100 per cent, for sure. The target is to try to get a good result tomorrow and go forward to the group. But I expect a very tough game.
‘These types of games are games that you win at home and think that it is almost done and it’s not like this. Especially not on this pitch, in this environment. So we need to be absolutely ready.’
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