Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has suggested that Dario Essugo has suffered a setback in his bid to return from injury.
Essugo has been out of action with a thigh injury since September, picking up the issue while with Portugal Under-21s, which required an operation.
Blues boss Maresca revealed on Friday that the young midfielder has returned to training ahead of schedule, after earlier reports of a possible return in early 2026.
With fellow midfielder Moises Caicedo now banned for three matches for his red card against Arsenal, Essugo being ready to build up his match fitness was seen as very timely.
But Maresca says Essugo "needs to slow down", telling reporters on Tuesday: "Everyone is fine. Romeo [Lavia] is still trying to recover.
"Dario, he was OK. He has started some sessions with us. Now he needs to slow down a little bit. So he will be out again. But hopefully it’s nothing important."
Andrey Santos is in contention to start against Leeds, while Enzo Fernandez could move into a deeper role. Maresca has suggested the Josh Acheampong could come into midfield.
“Andrey is ready,” Maresca continued. “His position is playing as a No6, like Moi, but he is ready. One that can play good in that position is Josh Acheampong, but we will see.”
Cole Palmer is again ready to start, having made the bench but not come on against Arsenal.
