Enzo Maresca explains Noni Madueke absence from FA Cup thrashing | OneFootball

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca explained that Noni Madueke missed out of Saturday's 5-0 FA Cup victory over Morecambe through illness, rather than a result of another punishment.

Madueke was publicly called out by Maresca earlier this season after he was dropped to the bench for Chelsea's 3-0 win over Aston Villa in December. The Italian coach criticised the winger's attitude in training and accused him of easing up after producing a good performance.

Maresca soon welcomed the forward back into the team only to then leave him out of the squad which lost to Fulham on Boxing Day. Chelsea's boss offered a guarded explanation on that occasion, describing the call as a "technical decision".

However, it seems as though there was nothing untoward about Madueke's absence against the League Two strugglers on Saturday. "It was just because yesterday he didn't finish the session," Maresca explained after watching his side romp into the fourth round of the cup. "He was unwell."

Enzo Maresca was satisfied with Chelsea's 5-0 thumping of Morecambe / BEN STANSALL/GettyImages

As has been the case for most of Chelsea's cup fixtures, Maresca sent out a youthful squad. After a testing first 40 minutes, which saw Christopher Nkunku have a penalty saved, the Blues eventually broke the deadlock before a flurry of second-half goals gave the scoreline a layer of gloss which covered over Morecambe's spirited resolve.

While Madueke missed out, Saturday's fixture offered Reece James the chance to make his first appearance for the club in two months. The club captain lasted 45 minutes before he - and returning midfielder Romeo Lavia - were both removed during pre-planned half-time substitutions.

"The idea is to slow build the right condition," Maresca explained. "Especially for Reece, we have to be a bit more careful. The good thing is they both played 45 minutes and finished well without any problem. We can start to help them and bring the right condition."