Emma Hayes' Chelsea absence is being sorely felt as assistant Paul Green and defender Magdalena Eriksson explained the impact the last week has had on the squad.
Last week, the shock news came out in a personal statement where Hayes revealed to the world that she had undergone an emergency hysterectomy (removal of the womb) in her battle with endometriosis.
Part of her recovery plan from the operation included taking a step back from football temporarily and, while the players have already sowed their support for Hayes with tributes against Aston Villa (men's team) and Everton respectively, Eriksson has sent her own personal message to the manager whom she has won so much under.
“First of all, I’m gutted for Emma. Obviously, I’m happy that she is recovering well and everything has gone well and we miss her and having her around," the former Swedish defender and leader started off in her player press conference in Paris on Wednesday. "But, team-wise, I think I don’t really have to anymore as captain (take responsibility) as we have great people around the team and in the team.
"Everyone has taken responsibility and we miss Emma a lot but we know that we are going to have to find ways to handle this period without her. We have her amazing staff to look out for us and we also have Emma looking from home. She will stay in close contact with us from home.”
Off the pitch, Green alongside Denise Reddy has had to step up in the absence of the 46-year-old but surprisingly not much has and will change. Indeed, the assistant has also revealed that Hayes is making good progress.
“I think as I previously said last week, the processes haven’t really changed, it just means that Emma is not here," Green reaffirmed in his own part of the press conference. “It’s one cog in our wheel and everyone else is stepping up to cover in her absence but it has been very much business as usual.
“It’s just Denise has picked up Emma’s responsibilities and I have picked up some of Denise’s responsibilities, so it is very much something that we are used to. We don’t see it as a big difference.
"Of course, we miss Emma and she’s making good progress and getting better with every day. We are happy to continue in this period and get through matches and try and achieve the points we need to make sure we are in a good position for whenever she comes back.”
