Chelsea's significant change of injury luck revealed as Premier League absences list released
Enzo Maresca has appeared to have found the perfect formula regarding Chelsea's fitness problems since arriving at Stamford Bridge.
Last season in particular, then managed by Mauricio Pochettino, Chelsea's injury problems were of major concern. Throughout the whole of the 2023/24 season, they were left without many players who were recovering in the medical room.
This included the likes of Wesley Fofana, new signings Romeo Lavia and Christopher Nkunku, Reece James and a whole host of players who dipped in and out of availability.
Who the problem was down to was a mystery, it was hard to pinpoint an individual person or reason. This time around, under Maresca's management, Chelsea have had a largely clean bill of health, which has seen Fofana, James and Lavia all become available on a consistent basis.
This has been noticed across the selection choices Maresca has had for the Conference League and Premier League, being able to field essentially two different teams in order to keep his players fit and well rested.
Sky Sports, with data provided by Fantasy Premier League, have released a list of absences across each team in the league. Last campaign, Chelsea would've been top of the list for most of the season. However, in 2024-25, Maresca has guided the Blues to the bottom of the list with one injury absentee.
It's led to believe Sky have included Omari Kellyman, who joined from Aston Villa in the summer for £19m and is currently sidelined due to a hamstring problem.
Chelsea also have Jadon Sancho missing because of illness, with the England international hoping to be available prior to November's international break.
Maresca looks to have come up with the perfect plan. He recently outlined their roadmap Fofana, James and Lavia, confirming the trio would only play one game a week to minimise the risk of another setback.
"As I said, Romeo, Wes and Reece, probably, in this moment, they cannot play two games a week. So the idea is to use them once a week."
Chelsea will be keen to maintain their positive injury record in the weeks leading up to the international break. They have three fixtures - against Manchester United, FC Noah and Arsenal - prior to the respective players heading off for national team duty.
