Pedro Neto, like several of his Chelsea teammates, has been pushing the limits of his physical capacities over the past few weeks, badly in need of some proper rest but playing through various problems
while still giving it his all on the pitch.
Thankfully, he will have that rest now, during the international break, after opting to withdraw from the Portugal squad. The Portuguese FA confirmed that this decision was made jointly by all concerned parties, citing “physical problems that limit player” as the reason for doing so. It’s not clear what exactly ails Neto, but it kept him off the plane to Qarabag last week and will now keep him at home once again.
In some ways, this was perhaps a tougher decision than Enzo withdrawing from the Argentina squad, since the defending World Cup champions are already qualified for next summer’s edition. Portugal still have a couple games left in their group, though barring an epic collapse, they should have qualification effectively wrapped up already as well.
Hopefully Neto can rest up a bit ahead of the busy winter days ahead. He’s been one of the first names on the team sheet for some time now, and leads all our wingers in minutes. Incidentally, he’s been fairly durable as a Blue, despite acquiring an injury-prone reputation with Wolverhampton Wanderers after several injury-hit seasons (including knee, ankle, and hamstring problems).
