Enzo Maresca has said he hopes Moises Caicedo will be fit for the Club World Cup final on Sunday after the Chelsea star picked up an inkle injury in the closing stages of the Fluminense win.
Joao Pedro scored twice on his full Chelsea debut as the Premier League side secured a place in the Club World Cup final in New Jersey.The Brazil forward, who only completed his £60million move from Brighton last week, struck in style in each half as Chelseaovercame his first professional club and sweltering conditions in New York on Tuesday.
The Blues were given an injury scare in the closing stages of the match, however, as Caicedo fell to the ground with only minutes remaining. The 23-year-old appeared to pick up a knock when trying to pinch the ball from a Fluminense player and was treated by medical staff for a number of minutes.
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The Ecuador international did come back on but was then taken off again before the final whistle, with Chelsea momentarily playing with 10-men. Speaking after the match, Maresca provided an update on the tough-tackling midfielder.
The Italian said: "Dario [Essugo] had a muscle problem yesterday during the session, so he is going to be ready for next season. Moi, with his ankle, when it happened I told him, because there were just two or three games to go, I told him that we could play with 10 players.
"It's important that we don't get too worked up because we have a game on Sunday, but we felt that we could try and we can play. Hopefully he can be fit on Sunday, we'll see."
Chelsea will face either Real Madrid or PSG in the final on Sunday, with the two sides facing each other on Wednesday. On reaching the final, Maresca said: "We are very happy, we are very proud to play the final on Sunday. The reason why is because this is the Club World Cup, the best clubs in the world is here. For us to be there on Sunday is something that we are very proud of, so we are very happy."
Maresca also waxed lyrical about Pedro, who made his first start for the club on Tuesday and bagged two goals. "We are very happy with Joao, we know that Joao is a very good player and a student that he can be," Maresca admitted. "Because he has qualities inside, like today. I think another thing that is important about Joao is that he was on holiday, so it's a bit more fresh compared to the rest. So it's something that is important to be aware of that. So, happy for Joao."
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