Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has dismissed sympathy for Raheem Sterling and Axel Disasi, saying his father has more of a "hard life" as a fisherman than his club's so-called 'bomb squad' players.

The Italian's comments followed Chelsea's talks with the Professional Footballers' Association about the ongoing exclusion of Sterling and Disasi from Maresca's first-team squad.

When asked about the pair training separately from his team, Maresca said: "I've been in Raheem's and Axel's situation as a player.

"For sure, I know it is not the best feeling for a player. For different reasons, the situation is the situation at the moment, but I know the club is giving them the situation to work in the right way."

Asked if the situation is mentally challenging for the duo, the 45-year-old added: "My father is 75 years old and for 50 years he's been a fisherman, working from two o'clock in the morning till 10 o'clock in the morning.

"This is a hard life - not the way a player works."

The PFA is in contact with the Blues to ensure that Sterling and Disasi have the platform to train to an optimum level despite not being involved with the senior team.

World football's governing body Fifa has strict regulations over players who are isolated from squads in circumstances that could constitute 'abusive conduct' by the club, which may entitle an individual to terminate his contract citing 'just cause'.

Maresca added: "When no solution is found, you give the player all the tools to train and do anything, but if you are not in the squad, you are not in the squad.

"It's not about Chelsea, it is about any club in the world."

Sterling, 30, who was expected to leave Chelsea this summer, has just under two years left on his ?325,000-per-week deal.

Several overseas clubs, including Juventus, Napoli and Bayer Leverkusen, showed interest in Sterling, but he preferred to stay in London to remain close to his family.

Arsenal opted against signing their loanee from last season, while Fulham signed alternative options for their wide positions.

Meanwhile, Disasi, whose contract expires in 2029, sought a loan move to his former club Monaco, but they did not make a formal offer.

In the meantime, loan moves to Bournemouth, Sunderland and West Ham were rejected by the France international and collapsed by the transfer deadline earlier this month.

Garnacho 'ready to start' at Old Trafford

Maresca says winger Alejandro Garnacho is "ready to start" when the Blues play his former club Manchester United on Saturday.

The 21-year-old has made two substitute appearances since joining Chelsea in a ?40m transfer in August.

Before leaving, Garnacho was told to find a new club by United head coach Ruben Amorim at the end of last season and ordered to train at different times to the rest of the squad.

He had questioned Amorim's decision not to start him in the 1-0 Europa League final defeat by Tottenham.

Asked about the prospect of the Argentine attacker being booed at Old Trafford, Maresca said: "I don't know. The same happened to Marc Cucurella against Bayern Munich, which is not easy, but as a player you have to learn to endure these kinds of things."

Cucurella was targeted by Bayern supporters on Wednesday, with that thought to have stemmed from a handball against Germany by the Spain defender at Euro 2024 that went unpunished.(BBC)

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