Chelsea travel to Leeds United on Wednesday night in the Premier League
Chelsea are set to be without five players for their Premier League match at Leeds United on Wednesday night. Moises Caicedo will miss out through suspension after receiving a straight red card against Arsenal last weekend.
On Tuesday, Enzo Maresca provided an injury update in his press conference, as three players are still recovering from injury. Dario Essugo has been reintegrated into the group, and there is hope he will soon be 100%.
“Dario, he was okay, started some sessions with us, but he needs to slow down a little bit and will be out, but we hope nothing important,” the Italian boss said.
“We hope he will be fine.”
Meanwhile, Romeo Lavia remains some way off a return. “Romeo is still trying to recover,” Maresca added.
Elsewhere, Levi Colwill and Mykhailo Mudryk remain long-term absentees. Colwill underwent surgery after rupturing his ACL in the summer and is continuing his rehabilitation with support from the medical team at Cobham.
“Levi has today undergone successful surgery [for] an ACL injury,” Maresca confirmed back in August.
“Medical assessments confirmed surgery would be the required course of action. Levi will now begin his recovery and be supported by the medical department at Cobham during his rehab phase.”
Mudryk is currently banned from all football activities following charges of a doping offence brought by the Football Association (FA).
The Ukrainian international faces up to a four-year ban if found guilty, though he has constantly denied any wrongdoing in the case.
As for Leeds, manager Daniel Farke has been handed a double boost with midfielder Anton Stach and goalkeeper Karl Darlow both fit again, though Daniel James faces months on the sidelines.
“Good news since Sunday with Anton, he’s back in team training and definitely also available for this game,” Farke said at Thorp Arch.
“Some disappointing news with Daniel James. His hamstring tendon is injured. He will be out, side lined, depends if he needs surgery or not. It looks like he will miss at least the next eight weeks.
“As it stands we have to expect he’s out for two months at least, could be worse with surgery. We need him back as soon as possible, as quick as possible. In four weeks we will see a little clearer how long the injury will last.
“Karl missed three team trainings last week and was not able to travel with us but that seems to be sorted. It was a minor adductor injury, but he’s back in training today and should be alright.”
