Liam Delap took Joao Pedro’s spot in the line-up, and the interim head coach discussed the issue that kept the Brazilian out of the side
Chelsea interim head coach Calum McFarlane provided an update on striker João Pedro after the Brazilian was left out of the Blues’ side that defeated Tottenham 2-1 on Tuesday night at Stamford Bridge.
The former Brighton striker has been one of the brightest sparks in a disappointing season for Chelsea, so his absence from the starting line-up to face Spurs came as a surprise to many.
Pedro, who suffered the shock news of his omission from the Brazil national team squad for the 2026 World Cup on Tuesday, was recently named as Chelsea‘s player of the 2025/26 season.
After the game, McFarlane confirmed that the absence of the Brazilian was down to an injury sustained during the FA Cup final defeat to Manchester City.
McFarlane also spoke about Levi Colwill, who has recently returned from a long-term injury, and captain Reece James who both missed out for similar reasons.
Joao Pedro is our 25/26 Player of the Season. 🇧🇷💙 pic.twitter.com/bkCyUyECEq
Suggested Articles
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) May 19, 2026
“Levi has obviously come off the back of a very serious injury. So it was probably too quick of a turnaround from the cup final,” he told the press on Tuesday night.
“So that one pretty much speaks for itself. We didn’t want to risk him. We couldn’t afford to risk him tonight, but that would be expected. That would have been the plan from the beginning.
“Reece [James] is the same. We had Reece on the bench tonight, but again, coming off the back of an injury, the turnaround from the City game, the type of game that the City game was, we didn’t really want to risk him in that moment.
“Joao Pedro had a slight knock, nothing that we’re massively concerned about. But again, with the quick turnaround from City, it just wasn’t worth risking Joao Pedro in that moment.”
Chelsea travel to face Sunderland on Sunday, knowing that a win would all but seal a European place for next season, although the Champions League is out of their reach.
