Mauricio Pochettino has explained the reason for Robert Sanchez’s absence from the Chelsea squad that drew Manchester City 1-1 at the Etihad stadium on Saturday evening.

Robert Sanchez was a surprise omission from the Chelsea team sheet for the match, despite Pochettino himself announcing at his press conference on Friday that the 26-year-old was now fully fit, and expected to be involved in the game.

The goalkeeper had been sidelined with a knee injury, which he picked up during Chelsea’s 2-0 defeat to Everton two months ago, and wasn’t expected to immediately displace Petrovic, who has actually been impressive in his absence.

However, his omission did raise a few questions, but Pochettino, while speaking ahead of kick-off against Man City, addressed them by confirming that the Spaniard had to be away for ‘personal’ reasons.

“We had hoped to include Robert in the squad today but after the press conference on Friday, it emerged that he had a personal problem which meant he could not be here with us,” the Chelsea manager said.

“It’s not a big issue but it’s important for him to be at home today.”

Hopefully, whatever it was isn’t so serious, and Sanchez can return to the Chelsea team soon, as the 2023-24 Premier League season enters it’s final 13 matches.