Moises Caicedo defensive midfield of Chelsea and Ecuador prior the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 semi-final match between Fluminense FC and Chelsea FC at MetLife Stadium on July 8, 2025 in East Rutherford, United States.
Chelsea have been handed a major boost by Moises Caicedo returning to training before the Club World Cup final, raising hopes that the midfielder will recover from an ankle injury in time to face Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday.
Enzo Maresca was left sweating over the availability of one of his most important players after Caicedo took a blow at the end of his side’s 2-0 victory over Fluminense in their semi-final on Tuesday. The Ecuador international tried to play on but complained of pain as the game drew to a close.
Chelsea will not want to be without Caicedo when they face PSG at the MetLife Stadium. Maresca depends on the £115m Ecuadorean’s authority and will need the former Brighton & Hove Albion player to be at his best if PSG’s exceptional midfield trio of João Neves, Fabián Ruiz and Vitinha are to be stopped.
Encouragingly for Chelsea, Caicedo has not missed a game through injury or illness since a 2-1 defeat to Wolves on Christmas Eve in 2023. Caicedo has developed an indestructible reputation and looks likely to start against the European champions after training in New York on Thursday morning.
Being without Caicedo would be a major complication for Maresca given that Roméo Lavia has been absent for two games through injury and Dário Essugo was unavailable against Fluminense after suffering an injury in training. Lavia was not pictured in training on Thursday. Chelsea’s other options in midfield are Enzo Fernández and Andrey Santos. Reece James can also move over from right-back.
Caicedo’s performances have led to him being hailed as one of the best midfielders in the world but he believes that he is not at that level yet.
“I am working on that,” he said. “I want to become one of the best midfielders in the world but I am too far right now. I am working hard every day and want to show it on the pitch. People always talk when you are doing well. Even when they say bad things, I don’t care because I just want to help my team. I focus on that.”
