Estevao is a doubt to face Arsenal with Chelsea on Tuesday night after Liam Rosenior confirmed the youngster has been on compassionate leave.
Estevao has been an increasingly important player for Chelsea this season, and he’s already started two games against Arsenal in 2025/26. If ready and available, the expectation would be that he’d be in the lineup at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night too.
But the 18-year-old missed Chelsea’s match against West Ham United on Saturday due to a personal matter, and Liam Rosenior admitted on Monday that he doesn’t know whether the player will be back for Arsenal.
“I don’t know yet,” Rosenior confirmed. “He is a young kid who has come and been magnificent. He is going through a really difficult time for personal reasons and is on compassionate leave.”
“I won’t put any pressure on him,” Rosenior added. “It has to be right for him and he has to feel in the right place to perform for this team.”
Chelsea will also be without Jamie Gittens, who will miss out on the chance to play against Arsenal for the third time in a row.
Gittens was benched in the Premier League game at Stamford Bridge, he was ill for the semi-final first leg, and he’s now picked up a hamstring injury. It’s likely Pedro Neto and Alejandro Garnacho will start if Estevao is also unavailable.
Chelsea’s gigantic squad will also be without some other players through injury, with Levi Colwill, Dario Essugo, Tosin Adarabioyo, Romeo Lavia, and Mykhailo Mudryk ruled out, and goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen 50/50 to return.
But none of those are new absentees, and most of Chelsea’s first-choice team should be available.