Enzo Maresca makes worrying Chelsea admission after injury blow on first day of training

Chelsea starting this season with the same head coach is not the only rarity before their upcoming campaign. There is also the rest factor. The Blues lifted the FIFA Club World Cup on July 13 in New Jersey and then gave the players a three-week break.

Their first Premier League opponents on August 17 are Crystal Palace who played their first pre-season friendly on July 12. And Chelsea stars risk being overcooked and under done.

The quick return to action was seen by England defender Levi Colwill breaking down in training on the first day back on Monday. After international summer tournaments, star players are given time off and slowly reintegrated.

You can’t do that for an entire squad. Banking £84m from the USA and also winning the UEFA Conference League and qualifying for the Champions League could yet come at a big cost.

And before friendlies against Bayer Leverkusen on Friday and AC Milan on Sunday, manager Enzo Maresca is uncertain how much his club - and their players - will pay this season. “I don't know the answer, to be honest,” said the Italian.

READ MORE: Newcastle face embarrassing situation if they land Nicolas Jackson transfer from Chelsea

READ MORE: Chelsea call in police as £30k of equipment disappears from training ground

“I'm quite curious because it's the first time it's happened, so I don't know. It's strange, it's different. We played 64 games. They never stopped for more than one year in a row.

“That is something that never happened before. We had three weeks off. So the main focus was to allow players to recover, come back here, try to do our best, and then we'll see game by game.

“We started two days ago, we have two friendly games in 48 hours, and then we go for the Premier League. So I don't know. We'll see game by game, day by day, how we are.”

One upside of such a short off-season is that Chelsea can carry the momentum of winning two trophies into the new campaign. After signing two good strikers - although the goalkeeper is still an issue - the West London club should be title contenders.

Where will Chelsea finish next season? Give us your prediction in the comments section.

“I can see that the mood is much better,” said Maresca. “When you finish the season the way we finished, quite strong, I think it's going to give players more energy, more boost.

“But we need to see how we manage this kind of situation. We need to be ready in any case. It's important to start again in the way we finished last season. We need to see how we adapt but for sure we need to be ready.”

The Blues also had the benefit of using the Club World Cup as a first pre-season to integrate Joao Pedro and Liam Delap. And they got a close up view of teenage Brazilian Estevao - the new Neymar - who played for Palmeiras but has now moved to London after his £29m signing last summer.

“For me, the biggest mistake we can make with him is to put him under pressure,” Maresca warned. “He’s very young, he needs to adapt. He can play everywhere.

“For me, he’s like Cole [Palmer], in terms of - careful - he is like Cole in terms of his position. He's a fantastic player, he's very young, he's a happy boy. He's always laughing, typical Brazilian guy. We need to keep him happy.”

One continuation from this time last season is the Chelsea bomb squad - including Raheem Sterling and Ben Chilwell - ruthlessly discarded by Maresca and up for sale. They are less happy. And the Italian still doesn’t care.

“The situation is quite clear,” he said. “They are training. I guess they are waiting for a solution. I don't pay attention to the ones that are training and they need to leave. I just focus on how we prepare the session, how we can win games.”

Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.