An unexpected adjustment was made to Chelsea’s Champions League roster just hours before their matchup with Bayern Munich. Chelsea will visit Bundesliga champions Bayern at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday to begin their league campaign.
The Blues are one of six Premier League teams, including Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, Newcastle, and Spurs, that are participating in the league phase. This season, Raheem Sterling and Axel Disasi, two prominent Chelsea players, have been left off the team’s Champions League roster.
Head coach Enzo Maresca decided they were surplus to needs, therefore they were demoted to the so-called ‘Bomb Squad’ and forced to practice apart from the rest of the first squad. Chelsea has now taken advantage of a new UEFA regulation that was just implemented last week to make a last-minute team change only hours before their first Champions League match.
According to UEFA’s official squad list, the London club has removed Dario Essugo from their roster and substituted Facundo Buonanotte.
Chelsea Axe Player From CL Squad on Eve of Bayern Clash
An ‘amendment’ to the squad regulations for the Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League was approved by UEFA’s ruling executive council last week. The ‘temporary’ substitution of one outfield player ‘with a long-term injury or sickness’ is now permitted for clubs until the sixth competition match day in December.
UEFA issued the following statement: “The reasoning for the adaptation is to ensure that squad lists are not unfairly reduced and players are safeguarded from additional workload pressure.” According to UEFA, an injury or sickness is deemed “long-term” if it persists for at least 60 days after the incident.
The player will still not be able to compete in any UEFA club tournament if they recuperate before the conclusion of this 60-day restriction. The governing body of European football reserves the right to have the player examined by an impartial medical expert at the club’s expense, and clubs are required to submit the necessary medical documentation to UEFA in order to demonstrate that the move isn’t tactical.
