Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca reveals Estevao injury 'problem' as Blues are forced to sweat on wonderkid's fitness

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has revealed his side will be without Brazilian wonderkid Estevao Willian for their upcoming trip to Newcastle United on Saturday. The exciting winger was missing from the squad that prevailed 3-1 against Cardiff City in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night, with the Italian boss explaining he is struggling with a "small muscular problem".

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  Estevao missing as Chelsea reach semi-finals

  Estevao was not included in Chelsea's squad on Tuesday night. David Turnbull had equalised in the 75th after Alejandro Garnacho opened the scoring just before the hour mark, but Pedro Neto's effort and Garnacho's second in injury time ensured the Blues reached the Carabao Cup semi-finals. They will face the winners of Thursday night's tie between Arsenal and Crystal Palace. The first legs of those semi-finals will be held on the week of January 12, while the return fixtures are played on the week of February 2.

  Chelsea are bidding to win the Carabao Cup for the first time since 2015, when they beat Tottenham in the final. They have been defeated finalists three times since then, falling once to Manchester City and twice to Liverpool.

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  Maresca explains Brazilian wonderkid's absence

  Speaking after the game, Maresca revealed why Estevao had been omitted from his squad: “He had a small problem. It was a muscle problem. He won’t be available for Newcastle and we will see for the next one.”

  The knock is the latest injury blow for Maresca, who was also without Levi Colwill, Dario Essugo, Liam Delap and Romeo Lavia. With Estevao missing, Tyrique George and Jamie Gittens were handed places on the wings. However, it was their replacements who turned out to be the match winners as their goals powered the visitors to a 3-1 victory.

  It meant back-to-back wins for Maresca, who recently claimed he had experienced the "worst 48 hours" at Chelsea during his stint at Stamford Bridge so far, and the Italian admitted he was happy again after beating Cardiff.

  He told reporters: "I’m just happy, we’re going to play another semi-final and I think it’s what the fans deserve. It was a great moment, I appreciate, always thankful. In some moments when you don’t win games, they have been not happy, but it’s normal. But overall, the fans have always been there. These are the kind of games that I fall in love even more with the players because you cannot imagine how easy it is to slip, to slide, because they are tricky games. Every season there are teams that they lost against, you know, League Two or League One. You need to pay attention, you need to do the right things."

• Estevao's momentum stalls after Barcelona display

  Estevao enjoyed arguably the best night of his young career back in late November as he starred in the 3-0 demolition of Barcelona. However, he was sacrificed in the following 1-1 draw with Arsenal after Moises Caicedo had been sent off and departed at the same time in the 3-1 defeat to Leeds United. The 18-year-old wasn't used in the loss at Atalanta and only came off the bench for nine minutes against Everton.

  It's a tough time for Chelsea to lose the talented youngster, with games against Aston Villa, Bournemouth and Manchester City following the weekend's trip to St James' Park, and Maresca will be hopeful Estevao is only absent for one of those four fixtures.

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  Garnacho and Neto stake claim for upcoming games

  Garnacho and Neto were the starting wingers in the 2-0 victory over Everton, with the latter bagging an assist, and the pair seemed to cement themselves further into the regular starting XI by coming off the bench to lead their side to victory on Tuesday. Estevao's absence is one less player battling for a more prominent role, while neither George nor Gittens were particularly impressive during the trip to Cardiff.