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ENZO MARESCA CONFIRMS TRIPLE INJURY BLOW, ADDING PRESSURE ON STRUGGLING CHELSEA

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca reveals that key trio Moisés Caicedo, Enzo Fernández, and João Pedro are all managing injuries, impacting their training and matchday performances amid a growing squad crisis.

Enzo Maresca confirms triple injury blow, adding pressure on struggling Chelsea
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has stated that Moisés Caicedo, Enzo Fernández, and João Pedro are all suffering from injuries - COURTESY/PHOTO

According to Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca, Moisés Caicedo, Enzo Fernández, and João Pedro are all dealing with injuries.

The strangely languid 2-1 loss to Sunderland at home on Saturday began with all three players on the field. Pedro played until the 85th minute, while Fernández and Caicedo played the entire 90, although none of these typically important three gave their best effort.

They were limited by fitness concerns, as Maresca would later clarify.

The Italian manager explained, "I believe João is not training daily because he is managing a little bit himself with the injury problem." Enzo [Fernández] and Moi [Caicedo] are absolutely identical.

"We have four or five gamers who attempt to make the effort to play the game, but they are unable to work every day due to various issues."

Before the excursion to Nottingham Forest last weekend, Caicedo and Fernández were both questioned about their health. While Caicedo was only healthy enough to start off the bench, the Argentine midfielder did not play at all. At the City Ground, the all-action central outlet helped Chelsea win the match, but against Sunderland, it did not have the same impact.

Undoubtedly, a lack of full fitness had a role, but Wilson Isidor's conscientious man-marking brief held Chelsea's key midfielder in check for the duration of a miserable afternoon.

Given the dearth of attacking options in west London, Pedro has been compelled to shoulder the responsibility of starting for Chelsea despite his personal problems. Pedro was briefly Maresca's lone senior centre forward after Liam Delap suffered a major injury and Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku left in the summer. Before the summer transfer window ended, Marc Guiu was called up from his loan stint with Sunderland, but he demonstrated against his short-lived former employers that he is still a raw 19-year-old.

"So João has been better in some games, but he battled a little bit [against Sunderland]," Maresca admitted. "But it is not only about João, I think all the guys suffered generally."

Delap's return to training will be a huge plus for Stamford Bridge, especially in light of Pedro's poor fitness. Since running a bit too hard in the first few minutes of a match against Fulham in August, the tough striker has been sidelined with a hamstring injury.

On Saturday, Delap grimly observed from the stands as his colleagues struggled against Sunderland's inflexible low block. Any opportunity to reduce Pedro's workload would undoubtedly be appreciated, since Maresca has alluded to the possibility of the 22-year-old playing some minutes in Wednesday's Carabao Cup match against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Chelsea will then have to deal with the exciting possibility of travelling to Tottenham Hotspur for a London derby. Despite having a disappointing home record this season—newly promoted Burnley is the only Premier League team to have lost in N17 so far—Thomas Frank's team has a clear strength that Chelsea finds worrisome: set pieces.

This season, Maresca's team has gained an attacking advantage at dead balls, but their defensive performance is quite different. According to Opta, Chelsea has given up more goals from these situations than any other team in the division, including four set-piece Premier League goals, which is tied for the 14th worst. In both cases, the towering Delap might be required.

WHY WAS COLE PALMER SUBBED? THE REAL REASON BEHIND THE STAMFORD BRIDGE BOOS

Fans booed as Cole Palmer was subbed in Chelsea's draw with Bournemouth. Learn why Maresca was absent and what’s next for the Blues.

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Managing Cole Palmer’s return

After Chelsea's 2-2 tie with Bournemouth, assistant coach Willy Caballero defended the choice to sub off Cole Palmer, even though fans at Stamford Bridge were angry about Enzo Maresca's move.

Fans booed, yelling, You don't know what you're doing! when Palmer—who'd been one of the team's better players—was taken out in the 63rd minute. The home team was trying to score and break their bad Premier League streak at the time.

Chelsea has only won one of their last seven league games. Caballero said afterward that head coach Enzo Maresca, who wasn't there for the post-game interviews due to illness, is still a role model for everyone at the club.

Still, the pressure is on the coach after yet another result slipped away. Chelsea has now lost 13 points at home from winning positions.

The mood got especially sour when Palmer, who just came back from an injury, was taken off in the second half.

Every fan wants the best players on the field, Caballero said. We do, too. But Cole is coming back from a long injury. So we have to figure out the best substitutions to win the game while also keeping our players healthy. We need them for the entire season.

Caballero said about Maresca's absence, "He hasn't been feeling well for the past two days." He had a fever two days ago. He did the last two practices because he wanted to get the team ready. But after the game, he went to the locker room and asked me to fill in because he wasn't feeling well.

He's handling it well and is very professional. He puts in a lot of hours every day, even when he wasn't feeling well the last two days. He loves to train and coach. He's a role model for me and the rest of the staff.

Bournemouth took the lead after six minutes when David Brooks scored on his second try after Robert Sanchez made a save. Then, Palmer scored a penalty to tie the game for Chelsea.

Next, Enzo Fernandez put the home team ahead, but the Blues couldn't hold on to their lead again. Justin Kluivert tied the score before halftime after Chelsea failed to handle a long throw-in from Antoine Semenyo.

There's been a lot of talk that this would be Semenyo's last game for Bournemouth before he moves to Manchester City soon. Before leaving the field, he seemed to say goodbye to the fans who had traveled to see the game.

Still, head coach Andoni Iraola was sure he'd play against Arsenal on Saturday.

It's not his last game here with us, he said. I can't say for sure, but I think he'll play.

He needs to rest. We've played two tough games in three days. We have Arsenal at home, so we're getting ready for another one, a tough game against the leaders. He's going to be important for us.

BREAKING: ENZO MARESCA SKIPS MEDIA AS CHELSEA CRISIS DEEPENS! GET THE HEALTH UPDATE

Enzo Maresca missed the post-match media due to a fever after Chelsea's 2-2 draw. Willy Caballero provides an urgent update on his health.

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Chelsea's winless run continues as Maresca falls ill

Enzo Maresca skipped media interviews after Chelsea's 2-2 tie with Bournemouth because he was sick.

The Blues coach was supposed to chat after his team snagged a point against Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night.

But right before he was about to talk about the game, news dropped that Maresca wasn't feeling good.

So, his assistant, Willy Caballero, stepped in to handle things in west London.

Caballero shared an update on Maresca: He's been under the weather for a couple of days, Caballero said. He had a fever two days ago.

After the game, he went to the locker room and asked me to fill in for him since he wasn't feeling well.

Caballero was asked if he'd be in charge against Manchester City on Sunday, like he was against Villa during Maresca's suspension.

"I'm not sure," he said. I just want Enzo to get better. I think he'll be fine in a day or two.

The draw with Bournemouth means Chelsea has only won one of their last seven Premier League games.

Fans were clearly annoyed during the second half when Cole Palmer was subbed out for Joao Pedro.

Palmer just got back to playing regularly after a groin injury, but some Chelsea fans wondered why he was taken out.

About the boos, Caballero said, "Of course, every fan wants their best players on the field, and so do we."

But Cole is coming off a long injury, so we have to figure out the right subs for the game and also look out for our players since we didn't have him for a while.

Chelsea and Bournemouth had a boring 0-0 draw in their previous match earlier in the month.

But the game at Stamford Bridge was totally different, with Bournemouth taking the lead early on through David Brooks.

Palmer leveled the score with a penalty, and then Enzo Fernandez blasted a shot into the top corner to put Chelsea ahead.

But Chelsea failed to defend a long throw for the second time, allowing Justin Kluivert to score for Bournemouth.

After playing City, Chelsea will face their west London rivals Fulham before an FA Cup game away against Charlton Athletic.

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