Sponsored by. CHELSEA star Joao Felix will not feature against Manchester City this afternoon after flying home due to a family bereavement. Felix, 25, has been granted compassionate leave by the Blues. The Portuguese may have been in contention to feature against City, but will now be unavailable on compassionate grounds.
![[Joao Felix of Chelsea during a soccer match.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/editorial-use-no-use-unauthorised-963069705.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Felix rejoined Chelsea last summer on a permanent deal, following a previous loan spell in 2023. He has made 20 appearances in all competitions this season, including 12 in the Premier League. The attacker has been linked with a Chelsea exit this month, having only earned three Prem starts.
Earlier this week, boss Enzo Maresca opened up on Felix's lack of game time. He said: "Joao is a Chelsea player. The problem, unfortunately, for Joao and Christo [Nkunku], the manager plays most of the games with one attacking midfielder and that is Cole Palmer.
“We have decided to play with an attacking midfielder in most of the games, so this is the reason why Joao and Christo struggle to get minutes – not for any different reasons because they are both fantastic players, fantastic guys who work well. “The reason why is only because most of the games I decide to play with one attacking midfielder in terms of balance. This is the reason why.”.
Further quizzed if Felix could leave before the end of the transfer window, Maresca added: "I am not saying that, I am not saying that. "I am saying that I like both but the reason why they struggle is because most of the time I play with one attacking midfielder.".
