There was no let up for Moises Caicedo throughout the final international break of 2025.
The Chelsea midfielder captained his country this week in Ecuador’s 2-0 victory over Recent Zealand in Recent Jersey, playing the total 90 minutes just as he did five days prior against Canada in Toronto.
With Ecuador already qualified for next summer’s World Cup, each were friendly affairs. The second of those games finished within the early hours of Wednesday morning before the 24-year-old set off making the long journey back to the capital with Chelsea in motion away to Burnley in Saturday’s lunch-time kick off.
Caicedo’s midfield partner Enzo Fernandez was given a rare week off, dropping out of the Argentina squad that took on Angola. However it was business as usual for Caicedo.
It’s not a super situation. Caicedo, evolving right into a metronomic presence in Enzo Maresca’s midfield, has played more minutes than anyone else within the squad, racking up 1,262 in 16 appearances.
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He was also among the many clutch of players to rack up over 4,000 minutes of playing time last season as a part of that gruelling campaign that only led to July in Recent Jersey on the Club World Cup.
From the attitude of a Chelsea fan, the sight of Caicedo playing two full friendlies heading into the busiest period of the season may have had them pulling their hair out.
Leaving the comfort of Cobham inevitably means there may be less control over what Caicedo may have been doing each day with the national team. But Chelsea may have remained in constant communication with their Ecuador counterparts to make sure there may be a tailor-made training plan ready and waiting for the previous Brighton midfielder upon his return.
‘They may have been communicating with the staff from his international team throughout the international break,’ Stephen Smith, CEO and founding father of Kitman Labs which specialises in injury welfare, told Metro.
‘They may have been chatting, exchanging information on how he has trained, what that has looked like during the last week or so. I imagine Chelsea may have provided some form of level of advice over things they’d have liked to see proceed to be done with him from a management perspective.
‘They will even have been following as much as get information on what their training looked like, tracking his physical output in those games. They’ve been consuming that information throughout the international break to arrange for him coming back in in order that they can construct an in depth and robust plan for him.’
Caicedo has been ever-present in Chelsea’s starting XI within the Premier League this season, failing to begin only one game against Nottingham Forest immediately after the October international break with a knock.
Following the trip to Turf Moor, the Blues have huge games against Barcelona and Arsenal within the Champions League and Premier League respectively. While midfield options are short given Romeo Lavia’s latest setback with Dario Essugo out until the Recent Yr, those big games coupled with Caicedo’s busy week could make resting the Ecuadorian this weekend a necessity.
’I believe we’ll proceed to see rotation of players like that, as they get back. Especially given the quantity of travel time involved,’ Smith said.
‘Just that alone, the impact of travel and jet lag itself is a big factor for them to administer and I’m sure they will likely be desirous about that.
‘Little question they’ll have been desirous about all these scenarios and communicated this with the international staff. All this is finished to construct that detailed and robust plan for him for him once he’s back which takes under consideration exactly what he has done while he’s away.’
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