Enzo Maresca blames FIFA Club World Cup hangover as Chelsea's injury woes deepen

Chelsea's victory at the Club World Cup last summer was celebrated as a major milestone, but Maresca said the short turnaround has taken a heavy toll on his squad. The Blues had just 26 days between the final and their first pre-season match, and the Italian believes that gruelling schedule is a major reason behind the club's growing injury list.

Defenders Levi Colwill and Dario Essugo, along with forward Liam Delap, have all been sidelined for months, and the situation worsened when Romeo Lavia limped off after just five minutes against Qarabag with another muscle problem.

It was another setback for the Belgian midfielder, who has endured a difficult spell with injuries since joining from Southampton in 2023.

Maresca made six changes to his starting line-up for the European tie, leaving out Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo and Malo Gusto in an attempt to manage workloads. However, with Lavia injured early, Caicedo was forced into action sooner than planned.

The Chelsea manager defended his rotation policy and insisted that fatigue from last season continues to affect his players.

"I've said it many times, the Club World Cup affected us a lot," Maresca said. "We wanted to rest Enzo, Moises, Malo and others because they can't play every three days. They need recovery from last season. When we win, no one talks about rotation.

"When we draw or lose, it becomes a problem. But it's important to recover energy and go again on Saturday."

Chelsea's draw leaves them still in contention for the knockout stages, but with two midfielders, Lavia and Essugo, now out for the foreseeable future, Maresca's options in the centre of the pitch are looking increasingly stretched ahead of their Premier League clash this weekend.