Chelsea will continue to receive input from Emma Hayes from afar as general manager Paul Green and assistant head coach Denise Reddy prepare the team to face Everton in the Women’s Super League.
Hayes is recovering at home after emergency hysterectomy surgery but will be in radio contact with her bench on Sunday.
Contingency plans for her absence had been set in motion over the international break after Hayes’s diagnosis first became clear to general manager Paul Green a few weeks ago.
Green explained on Friday how the club will be run in Hayes’s absence, and said: “Emma will definitely still be involved.
“We know what sort of character she is. She will be watching the training sessions online and she will be linked to the bench on matchdays, as long as she is well enough to do that.
“She will be heavily involved and I am sure it will be difficult for her to watch the games at home but hopefully we can get the results we need.”
Reddy steps in is an experienced coach within the game, having been at Chelsea for the last two years but having also worked in the sport since the 1980s. She has been a manager in both Sweden and her native United States, and Green has full faith in the new setup.
“We were aware of it just before the international break so it allowed us to get set up,” he added.
“Denise is experienced in her own right and has been a head coach in America and Sweden. We’ve got Tanya [Oxtoby] on our staff who has also been a head coach, then Stuart [Searle] and I who have worked alongside Emma for nearly 10 years now.
“We have been in this situation in 2018 When Emma was pregnant so it is not a new situation.
“The players knew about the situation before the international break so, coming back, it wasn’t a shock.”
“Reading the statement yesterday wasn’t a shock but it is business as usual for us. It just means our leader won’t be there which is a blow but the staff and players are experienced enough to get through this situation.
“We’ve got Magdalena [Eriksson] and Millie [Bright], the two captains, along with other senior players who will be making sure the players maintain their standards to get the results during this period for Emma.”
Green also said everyone is fit to face Everton except Jelena Cankovic who has a “slight niggle”, along with Melanie Leupolz who is on maternity leave after giving birth.
