Enzo Maresca press conference: Heidenheim vs Chelsea

Captain Reece James has had a scan on his injury but Chelsea “don’t know how long the recovery time is” yet.

The manager said he wants the spotlight turned away from his captain: “I think the best thing we can do, as the staff, and you [media]is don’t talk too much about Reece. The more we speak about Reece, the more pressure we put on. The more you ask, the more I answer, the more we put pressure on him.”

Pedro Neto and Malo Gusto have returned to training and are expected to be involved against Aston Villa on Sunday.

Despite training with the first team, Josh Acheampong is not in the matchday squad for Heidenheim, with Maresca also adding, “there are not any update in terms of contract.”

On managing minutes for his squad: “It’s an important European competition. Since we started, we have tried to share minutes with all of the squad. In this moment, it is like this.”

He conceded “it is not always possible” to keep players happy but insisted Christopher Nkunku has not disclosed any unhappiness at his lack of Premier League minutes. Maresca said the pair have spoken this week.

More from Maresca on Nkunku: “Of course, he wants to play more games but there are a lot coming up. For sure, he is going to play a Premier League game. His best position is as a 10 but Cole [Palmer] is playing there. We need balance.”

He said he is “absolutely not” looking to sell the forward in the January transfer window, adding: “I completely want him to stay with us.”

On opponents Heidenheim: “I enjoy every game, knowing that in this competition, every club and every team try to make it a big game. The issue for us can be that if we are not ready mentally and we underestimate something, it can hurt us.”