Enzo Maresca doubts Liverpool will ever fully recover from Diogo Jota’s death

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Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca doubts whether Liverpool’s players will ever fully recover from the loss of Diogo Jota.

The death of Jota at the age of 28 in July following a road accident was a painful reminder for Maresca of when his Sevilla team-mate Antonio Puerta died suddenly of a cardiac arrest 18 years ago.

Puerta, a wing-back who had won one cap for Spain, collapsed during a La Liga game against Getafe in August 2007 and died three days later in hospital. Maresca had also been on the pitch at the time.

Three months earlier the pair had played together as Sevilla retained the UEFA Cup, defeating Espanyol on penalties in the final – Puerta hit the winning kick in the shoot-out – a year after lifting the trophy for the first time by beating Middlesbrough.

A year ago, Maresca spoke of the pain of returning to the Olympic Stadium in Athens for Chelsea’s Conference League game against Panathinaikos, the same ground where Sevilla had played a postponed Champions League qualifier a week after the death of his team-mate. The game against AEK Athens had originally been scheduled for the day that Puerta died.

As such, the Italian is all too aware of what Saturday’s opponents Liverpool are going through.

“It’s difficult,” he said. “It’s also difficult to explain because there is no solution. You have just to deal with it. You cannot be better again.”

Maresca, who was a senior member of the Sevilla team in 2007, has stayed in contact with Puerta’s parents ever since.

“You arrive at the training ground. You can imagine the changing room is more or less like this room. You arrive and you see that place empty where every day there was your team-mate, it’s very sad,” he said.

“After 20 years, it’s the only thing I can say.”

A visibly emotional Maresca then asked that there be no more questions on the subject.

The Italian is facing a selection dilemma ahead of the meeting with the Premier League champions with four central defenders unavailable.

Levi Colwill and Tosin Adarabioyo are injured while Wesley Fofana is observing concussion protocol after a knock to the head in last week’s Carabao Cup win over Lincoln.

Trevoh Chalobah serves a one-match ban for his red card in the defeat to Brighton, leaving Benoit Badiashile – who has started just once all season after injury – and 19-year-old pair Jorrel Hato and Josh Acheampong as the only fit options.

“It’s difficult but we trust all the (defenders) we have here,” said Maresca. “When you can go always with the same two or you can change one after four or five games, it’s much better.

“As much as you play together with another team-mate the relationship becomes better. Sometimes you don’t even need to speak to do something on the pitch, they can understand immediately. When you continue to change it’s more difficult.

“It was difficult against Brighton, against (Danny) Welbeck. After the red card we played with Josh and Hato. Both are top defenders, but together they had the same age as Welbeck.”