On Friday, Maresca confirmed that the 25-year-old was returning to team training for the final session before our Premier League meeting with Wolves, after which his availability for today's game would be determined.

If Neto is not passed fit to feature, it would be the first time this season that Chelsea have lined up for a Premier League game without him in the starting XI.

And as our head coach explained, it is in and out of possession that Neto’s absence would be felt, although he did highlight that Alejandro Garnacho is quickly improving those aspects of his game.

Maresca said: ‘It’s on the ball and it’s off the ball, it’s on both sides that Pedro is doing fantastic.

‘I think the other one that is doing well, that is improving, and he has to not stop because I don’t allow him to drop and to stop, is Garnacho. He’s doing very well on the ball and off the ball.

‘This is not just for me, it’s modern football. If you just attack and you are not able to defend, you don’t play many games, in my view. In terms of sacrifice, Pedro has been top since we started together.

‘We know that we cannot ask the same things of Estevao as Pedro Neto. We cannot ask Estevao to drop off and be a full-back sometimes like Pedro; he’s a different player with a different set of qualities. But all of them need to make sacrifices.’

Maresca also discussed the other considerations, beyond fitness, which go into his team selection, with decisions sometimes taken right up until matchday.

‘The way I prepare the game, I always try to do the right things for the players and put them in situations where they can be comfortable and give everything. But we also try to surprise the other team a little bit.

‘Sometimes we have doubts until the end. Sometimes it is quite clear. When, for instance, our wingers – Estevao, Pedro, Garnacho, Jamie Gittens – are all doing fantastic, probably for me it’s more complicated to say which one is the correct one for this game and which one is the correct one for the next game.’

There will be uncertainty around what the Wolves line-up at Stamford Bridge will look like, too. That is because of Vitor Pereira’s departure as their head coach following last week’s defeat at Fulham.

Their Under-21s manager, James Collins, is expected to take charge of the senior team on a temporary basis, alongside Under-18s boss Richard Walker, who will sit in the dugout for the first time this evening.

‘The one that is in charge now, he played a game against Chelsea Under-21s and I watched it after the game against Qarabag,’ Maresca said.

‘In this situation, probably you have to be more focused on your team than the other team, because you cannot get much information about the other team. But for sure we expect them in one way and we will see tomorrow.’