Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has defended his decision to omit Cole Palmer from their UEFA Conference League squad for the group stages.
The club confirmed their squad for the competition last month and the England international was not part of the players selected along with team-mates Wesley Fofana and Romeo Lavia.
The Blues kick off their European campaign on Thursday when they host Belgian side GAA Gent at Stamford Bridge, which will be live on TNT Sports and discovery+.
Palmer has been in sensational form this season and made Premier League history on the weekend after scoring four first-half goals as Chelsea enjoyed a 4-2 win over Brighton.
Following Palmer’s latest heroics, Maresca says he stands by his decision to leave the player out of the European squad for now and believes he needs to be “protected”.
“We played some games without Cole, but Cole is something extra that you need,” Maresca told a press conference.
“We also need to think a bit to protect some players. They need that. There is a reason behind it and I think Cole needs to be protected.”
Despite a rocky transfer window and an opening day defeat to English champions Manchester City, Chelsea have appeared to recovered under Maresca in the early stages of his reign at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea have won their last four matches in all competitions and sit in fourth position in the league table after six matches.
Maresca has a big squad at his disposal and is confident that he can manage the expectations of his team regarding playing time.
“We try to share minutes with all of them,” he added. “In this moment, probably, it looks like we have players that are playing in the Premier League and players playing in the cups: Conference, Carabao or FA Cup.
“It’s not like this, in general, it won’t be like this. We try to give them the opportunity.
“Last week, they all had a very good game. Hopefully tomorrow, we have a good game.”
Mykhailo Mudryk is a player who has failed to enjoy much game time under Maresca following the performances of fellow wingers Noni Madueke, Jadon Sancho and Pedro Neto.
However, Maresca said that all of his players cannot be guaranteed a start this season.
He explained: “I think he played from the start against Wolves in the Premier League, so we have given him some games already.
“The other day he was on the bench. I said many times that they all want to play from the start but sometimes it’s not possible.
“You have to take some decisions. Mykhailo against Barrow did really well [in the Carabao Cup]. Hopefully, he can have a good game tomorrow, but it’s not just about him. We can say the same about Christopher Nkunku. In football, things change quick.”