Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has revealed whether Marc Guiu will feature against Djurgardens IF on Thursday night.
The Blues head into the second leg of their Conference League semi-final versus the Swedish outfit holding a 4-1 lead on aggregate.
As a result, Maresca is highly likely to take the opportunity to rotate his starting lineup with a potentially-pivotal Premier League showdown at Newcastle United to come on Sunday lunchtime.
Nicolas Jackson seems likely to drop down to the substitutes’ bench for Thursday’s fixture, with Tyrique George seemingly in line to take his place.
However, there is anticipation over the return of Guiu, who has not featured in a Chelsea shirt since sustaining an adductor injury against West Ham United on February 3.
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What has Maresca said on Guiu?
While the former Barcelona starlet has been back on the grass at Cobham for a number of weeks, he has not been considered for a return to the squad.
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Maresca gave the impression that he would prefer to err on the side of caution with the 19-year-old’s recovery.
The Italian said: “We don’t have any injuries and Marc Guiu, he could be involved in tomorrow’s squad. Not sure yet.
“Probably for him, it is better to have some more days in terms of training session, but he is very close to being back with us.”
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A dilemma for Maresca
With six goals from 13 matches in all competitions totalling 578 minutes up until February 3, it is clear that Guiu has started to win over Maresca.
On the flip side, each of his six strikes have come in Conference League fixtures, casting doubt as to whether the prospect will be considered for three crucial Premier League games that are coming up.
Ideally, Guiu would feature in the final quarter of Thursday’s game with Djurgardens and spend another week on training ground before potentially being involved against Manchester United and Nottingham Forest.
However, it appears that the second leg with Djurgardens may come too soon for him, leaving it unrealistic to expect much game time between now and the end of the season unless absolutely necessary.
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