Enzo Maresca has provided an update on the fitness of Romeo Lavia and Reece James ahead of Chelsea’s Club World Cup semi-final clash against Fluminense.
Chelsea face the Brazilian giants on Tuesday night in New Jersey, with the winner set to take on either Real Madrid or PSG in the final.
The road to the last-four hasn’t been easy for the Blues, not least after suffering several injury blows in the build-up to their last match against Palmeiras.
Lavia was ruled out because of a small muscle injury, while captain James was named in the starting XI but pulled out before kick-off after he ‘felt something during the warm-up’.
Maresca shared an update on the midfielder in his pre-match press conference on Monday, saying: ‘I think in the last game we had Romeo out, Moises Caicedo out, Reece out, and we found a solution with Andrey Santos playing in midfield.
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‘Romeo is training already. Unfortunately, though, he is not training with the team, so he is not ready for tomorrow.’
While the head coach did not mention James, the full-back was pictured in team training and had previously posted on Instagram: ‘I’m fit and well, see you on Tuesday,’ implying he is ready to start.
But Maresca also has some suspensions to deal with, as Liam Delap and Levi Colwill picked up their second yellow cards of the tournament against Palmeiras, meaning they can’t play Fluminense.
Maresca’s comments suggest that new signing Joao Pedro will replace Delap in the striker position, fuelling further speculation that Nicolas Jackson’s future in the team is bleak.
But the Italian insists Jackson remains a willing and important member of his side despite his recent disciplinary issues, adding: ‘Now with Levi and Liam out, we will find different solutions.
‘Joao Pedro is ready, and we also have Nico. For sure, we will find a solution.’
‘I think Joao can play in all the attacking positions for us. The difference is with Nico, I see him as just a No.9 but I see Joao in different positions.
‘Nico is training well. In almost the last two games he played, he was sent off.
‘He is working well. He played the Conference League final and scored. At this moment, he is okay.’
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