Revealed: Why Jadon Sancho is not in Chelsea squad for Carabao Cup tie vs Newcastle
Jadon Sancho was not included in Chelsea's matchday squad for their Carabao Cup tie against Newcastle United.
The 24-year-old's omission came as a surprise when Enzo Maresca's starting XI was confirmed for Wednesday night's fourth round tie on Tyneside.
Sancho, who arrived from Manchester United in the summer, has featured five times for Chelsea this season, with all of his appearances coming in the Premier League.
Sancho was expected to feature on Wednesday against the Magpies, however it has been confirmed the England international is absent due to illness.
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Enzo Maresca has not played Sancho in their last two matches against Panathinaikos in the Conference League, and then Newcastle on Sunday in the league.
The Chelsea head coach confirmed it has been down to 'technical and tactical' decisions and insists the winger will continue to get his chances in the side.
"Jadon is doing well since he arrived with us. For sure, players cannot maintain the same for for the whole season because of the amount of games is huge.
"The last two games he didn't play - not for any different reason, just for technical decision, tactical decision. No more than that.
"He is going to play many games and the only thing he has to do is work hard and, when we give him (the) chance, just to take it."
In his pre-match interview, Maresca admitted all of his players deserve to play and when they're left out it is 'difficult'.
He said: "It's always difficult to leave players out, as they all deserve to play. In this moment, we are trying to share minutes thinking and knowing the season is very long and we can have injuries."
Maresca added: "The idea is just to share minutes with all of them. They all deserve to play in the way they work. The idea is to refresh a little bit, and give them the chance to get minutes."
