Chelsea have been handed a double fitness boost for their fixtures against Shamrock Rovers and Everton this week.
Enzo Maresca has been handed a positive injury card for the majority of the season, with Chelsea‘s medical room at reduced numbers compared to previous seasons.
Currently, Reece James and Wesley Fofana are the two players who are sidelined for longer periods due to hamstring problems, while others have been in and out of the side because of minor problems.
Two players who missed Chelsea’s 2-1 win against Brentford on Sunday night were Romeo Lavia and Joao Felix.
Lavia picked up a hamstring blow against Tottenham Hotspur, while Joao Felix was reportedly missing from Chelsea’s trip to Kazakhstan to face FC Astana due to an issue.
With Chelsea facing Shamrock Rovers on Thursday night in the Conference League, Maresca will once again rotate his squad, who are already qualified for the last-16, to freshen things up and share the minutes out.
It gives Lavia and Felix a chance to potentially be ready for Shamrock, but in particular Everton, for the trip to Goodison Park on Sunday afternoon.
In a double boost for the Blues, Maresca confirmed: “We had Joao and Romeo that can probably be available for the next one.”
Much has been made of Chelsea’s squad size. Maresca has always been quick to downplay the size of the group and to say they are in the same boat as all of the other clubs in the Premier League. After their win against Brentford, his line of response was no different.
“What do you mean by a big squad? 24 players? We have 24 players. I don’t know about the rest of the Premier League clubs. If we have a big squad, then it means that most of the Premier League clubs have a big squad. Because we are at Chelsea, we have 45 players, every time it is a big squad.”
He added: “I’ve said many times, since I’ve started, we have worked with 24 or 25 players. If this means a big squad, then we have a big squad but I think there are more Premier League clubs with the same amount of players.”
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