Pedro Neto ruled out of Chelsea’s clash with Qarabag in Baku

Winger Pedro Neto will miss Chelsea’s Champions League game against Qarabag in Baku, head coach Enzo Maresca has confirmed.

The 25-year-old was taken off in the 85th minute of Saturday’s 1-0 win over Tottenham and will not travel to Azerbaijan with what Maresca called “a small issue”.

Chelsea were due to begin the five-and-a-half-hour journey on Tuesday afternoon ahead of Wednesday’s match at the Tofiq Bahramov Stadium, as they look to make it three wins in a row in Europe.

“It’s not a problem, just a small issue,” said Maresca of Neto’s injury. The winger has been a mainstay of the manager’s team selections this season having started all 10 Premier League matches.

“We will try to protect him. He is not involved in tomorrow’s game,” Maresca added.

It will be the third time in eight years that Chelsea have had to make the long trek to the Azerbaijani capital.

They beat Qarabag 4-0 in the group stage of the Champions League in 2017 before returning 18 months later for the Europa League final, defeating Arsenal 4-1.

The players will be kept on UK time whilst in Baku to mitigate the effects of the four-hour time difference ahead of Saturday’s meeting with Wolves at Stamford Bridge, which comes less than 72 hours after they return to London.

Maresca expects captain Reece James to be able to play three games in a week following a period of managing his game time.

The defender has been frequently rotated out of the team since the Italian took over at the start of last season, a response to the repeated hamstring injuries that limited him to 45 Premier League appearances across three seasons prior to the current campaign.

“Reece is good, he is doing well,” said Maresca. “He is fit, 100 per cent. The way he has behaved every game is top. Even when he is not playing, the way he is with his team-mates in the dressing room.

“In the way we use Reece, we don’t use him up and down. It’s a big job to do that when we use full-backs in a different way.

“He is ready to play three games in a week.”

However, Cole Palmer will be out until after the upcoming international break, with no date in mind for the England international’s return from a groin problem.

“With Cole, we try to schedule the beginning, and then we need to review that,” said Maresca. “We go day-by-day with Cole. He is not taking any sessions with the team.

“We have Benoit Badiashile that can probably be available after the international break, and for us that is huge news.”