Enzo Maresca handed dream scenario ahead of Manchester City clash amid Conor Gallagher stance

Enzo Maresca’s first game as Chelsea boss is shaping up quite nicely, with Manchester City facing significant challenges ahead of the match this weekend. Reports from Manchester suggest that Manchester City have lost Oscar Bobb due to a training ground collision, and he is expected to be out for the first few months of the season.

This automatically rules him out of the game at Stamford Bridge, delivering a massive blow to Pep Guardiola and providing a significant boost to Chelsea, who are looking to start the season with all three points.

The Daily Mail is reporting that Bobb injured his ankle and is likely to be out for three months, but further tests will need to be carried out to determine if he’ll need to head off to Barcelona for treatment. This injury also deals a psychological blow to Manchester City, as Bobb had an impressive pre-season and was expected to play a major role in the side this season.

Latest on Conor Gallagher:

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has potentially provided the perfect explanation for the current Conor Gallagher situation, as the midfielder has been given a few days off after returning to London following five days in Madrid, where he was hoping to sign for Atletico Madrid.

Gallagher arrived back in London on Tuesday night but was granted a couple of days off, which likely gives the manager a chance to explain that he hasn’t trained enough to be involved in this weekend’s game. Chelsea are desperately looking to find a solution to his transfer saga.

The fact that Gallagher doesn’t have to report to Cobham while on break means there are no concerns about him being relegated to train with the under-21s. Chelsea are hoping to resolve the situation over the weekend.

Gallagher has the security of having just one year left on his contract, but Chelsea are determined to sell this summer, having been burned by allowing both Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger to run down their contracts—a valuable mistake they do not want to repeat.