Liam Rosenior revealed, after his side was eliminated by Arsenal in the EFL Cup semifinals that team captain Reece James and forward Pedro Neto could not pass late fitness tests that would have cleared them to play on Tuesday night.
However, they should, or at least very well could, be okay for the next match- a trip to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.
Chelsea at Wolverhampton Wanderers
Kickoff: Sat. Feb. 7, 3pm, Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton, UK
Google Result Probability: Chelsea 57% Draw 23% Wolves 20%
Premier League Standing: Chelsea 5th, 40 pts Wolves 20th, 8 pts
Blues Team News
“Pedro (Neto) and Reece (James) have small knocks,” Rosenior said. “They were just in too much pain for tonight… They are giving everything – they would always put their hand up to play.”
Neto (who would be facing his former team on Saturday) and James are the only two team news updates for Chelsea right now.
Levi Colwill, Tosin Adarabioyo, Dario Essugo, Romeo Lavia and Filip Jorgensen remain out as longer-term injury absentees.
Following the loss to cross-town rival Arsenal, Rosenior challenged his players to quickly move on from the loss, and get a result at Wolves on the weekend.
“There are a lot of encouraging signs,” Rosenior said. “Now I need to see what we look like after a setback. We need to react positively.
“We have a difficult game away in Wolves on Saturday and I need to see what our reaction is to that.”
Nothing says “get right game” quite Wolves; they are currently 18 points away from the safety zone.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, RG.org and Ratings.org. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.