Chelsea replace Dario Essugo with Facundo Buonanotte in Champions League squad | OneFootball

Chelsea have made a late change to their Champions League squad with Facundo Buonanotte now set to be included, according to the BBC.

The Argentine midfielder will be part of the squad that’ll face Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich in Chelsea’s opening game on Wednesday evening.

Buonanotte joined Chelsea on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion before the summer transfer deadline.

He was initially left out of Enzo Maresca’s list as the Blues struggled to fill their home-grown quota.

However, Dario Essugo’s long-term injury has given him a lifeline and a chance to play for the Blues in the Champions League.

Essugo will spend a long time in recovery after undergoing surgery on a thigh injury he picked up while on duty with Portugal’s Under-21 national team.

The former Sporting CP midfielder will be out for at least 12 weeks. That leaves Chelsea short of midfield options, with Romeo Lavia also struggling for fitness.

Lavia has returned to first-team training, but Maresca is keen to ensure there are no relapses this time around and has chosen to reintroduce him slowly.

Meanwhile, Chelsea’s move to replace Essugo with Buonanotte was made possible by a new UEFA regulation that allows clubs to make temporary replacements for injured players.

They can only use that card before the sixth matchday of the group stage. The rule was passed to prevent teams from being unfairly weakened and to reduce the workload on available players.

Chelsea’s last-minute tweak has given Buonanotte a lifeline. When he signed for Chelsea, he admitted that playing Champions League football would be a massive step in his career.

Buonanotte made his Chelsea debut in the 2-2 draw against Brentford, although he was only handed 45 minutes of action.