Chelsea leaves it to Pedro Neto to decide whether he wants to play World Cup collision against Palmeiras on Friday, so shortly after the death of his good friend, Diogo Jota.
Neto missed training with his teammates in Miami on Thursday morning after hearing the tragic news. He played with Jota at Wolves and for the national team of Portugal.
Chelsea is preparing to play Palmeiras in the quarterfinals of this competition in the United States, but are not sure if they will be at Neto, who has been offered compassionate leave.
Enzo Maresca told us in his press in Philly: 'It is the decision of Pedro completely.
'I had a chat with Pedro this morning. Every decision he will make is the right one and we will certainly support him. Whether he will be on the field tomorrow or not, at least we will support him.
“It's a very sad day. I have trouble finding the words, it's very difficult. The feeling you have is that you are a bit helpless in this situation. All my love for his family.
“Pedro is very sad, probably more than sad, but we are all so close to Pedro to support him at the moment.”
In the meantime, Romeo Lavia also missed the training in Miami on Thursday and Maresca revealed how he felt a muscular problem at the end of their last victory over Benfica. He described it as 'small', although the Chelsea could leave with a dilemma in midfield, because Moises Caicedo is hung for Palmeiras.
Joao Pedro was theoretical to make his debut for the blues after signing Brighton for £ 55 million, although Maresca suggested that he needed more time to train with him.
“Joao's situation is a bit strange or different because he was on vacation,” said Maresca. “He worked alone, but not yet with the team. We are very happy with Joao in recent days. We will see if he needs tomorrow, and if we have the chance that we will give him a few minutes. '