Enzo Maresca explains Carney Chukwuemeka's absence

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has explained the absence of Carney Chukwuemeka after the club's 4-2 Premier League win over Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday.

The Blues registered a third-straight win in the English top-flight and Cole Palmer was the star of the show. The Englishman scored a stellar quadruple during the opening half.

Speaking after the game, Maresca explained the reason why Chukwuemeka was left out of the matchday squad. The Italian said that he is a very good player and will get more minutes soon.

He said: "I think Carney is a very good player but for the amount of players we have, we decided at the start of the season that it would be better for him to leave and play 35 games than be here and play less games.

"He had some minutes the other day but today he wasn't involved. Hopefully we can give him more minutes."

The Blues will be in Conference League action against Gent on Thursday and Chukwuemeka could be in the starting line-up for that game.

Palmer won't be involved in the midweek encounter as the Blues have not registered him for the league phase of the European competition.