McFarlane on Pedro and Palmer, Rosenior's exit and Leeds

TL;DR

Chelsea interim manager Calum McFarlane confirmed Estevao Willian will miss the rest of the season, while Joao Pedro and Cole Palmer are hopeful to play in the FA Cup semi-final against Leeds. McFarlane emphasized the need for team improvement following a poor performance against Brighton.

Key points

Estevao Willian will miss the rest of the season.
Joao Pedro and Cole Palmer are hopeful to play in the semi-final.
Calum McFarlane respects Liam Rosenior despite his exit.
Chelsea needs to improve after a poor performance against Brighton.

Mentioned in this story

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Chelsea interim boss Calum McFarlane has been speaking to the media before Sunday's FA Cup semi-final against Leeds at Wembley (15:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

McFarlane confirmed Estevao Willian will not play again for Chelsea this season, which "is really unfortunate especially for someone so young and talented". He added: "We're here to support him" and that he does not know if Esetavo will be fit for the World Cup but the winger is "hopeful".
Joao Pedro and Cole Palmer have trained today and are "in a good place". When pushed if they will be fit to start, he added: "We will make a decision. They will train tomorrow. We are hopeful."
When asked where Liam Rosenior's tenure went wrong, McFarlane said: "It's not my place to say what's gone wrong and what's gone right. All I'm thinking about is Leeds. it's a massive game. All our focus is on improving the team performance for Leeds."
He confirmed that he has no knowledge of his role beyond the end of the season: "All I have been made aware of is I will take the team on an interim basis until the end of the season. We take things day-to-day."
Has there been a reflection on what went wrong?: "We haven't had a clear the air meeting. It's important to have a real focus. What's happened in the past doesn't need to be spoken about. We have the group focused on how we will approach the game. It is really important that we have a real focus on Sunday."
On Tuesday's defeat at Brighton, which signalled the end for Rosenior: "We definitely need to improve the performance. The performance against Brighton wasn't good enough - we know that. We need to make sure the group are in a better place to execute the gameplan on Sunday. The players know that. Brighton were very good, they didn't get enough credit. Our performance wasn't good enough. We will address that on Sunday and perform at the level we know we are capable of."
Has he spoken to Rosenior?: "I spoke to Liam. I'm not sure how that's been done [him saying goodbye as the players had a day off on Wednesday]. I spoke to him on the phone. It was a good conversation. I have a lot of respect for Liam. we have a really good relationship and I'm gutted that it didn't work out."

Q&A

What is the status of Estevao Willian's injury for Chelsea?

Estevao Willian will not play again for Chelsea this season due to injury.

Will Joao Pedro and Cole Palmer play in the FA Cup semi-final against Leeds?

Joao Pedro and Cole Palmer have trained and are hopeful to be fit for the match, with a decision pending after further training.

What did Calum McFarlane say about Liam Rosenior's exit from Chelsea?

Calum McFarlane expressed respect for Liam Rosenior and stated he was 'gutted' that it didn't work out, emphasizing the focus on the upcoming match against Leeds.

How did Chelsea perform in their last match against Brighton?

Chelsea's performance against Brighton was deemed not good enough, prompting McFarlane to stress the need for improvement ahead of the semi-final.