Why Jamie Gittens didn't play for Chelsea vs Fluminense as Club World Cup rules explained

Chelseaneeded to defeat Fluminense in the semi-final of the FIFA Club World Cup to reach the final.

The Blues claimed a 2-1 win over Palmeiras to secure a spot in the final four of the competition. Fluminense defeated Al-Hilal to book their place in the semi-final against Chelsea.

Enzo Maresca's side will be hoping to go one step further and reach the final of the inaugural format of the Club World Cup, and took a 1-0 lead thanks to a goal from summer signing Joao Pedro.

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Real Madrid or Paris Saint-Germain would be the Blues' opponents at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey if they were to beat Fluminense at the home of the New York Giants on Tuesday evening.

Chelsea had two new signings in their squad when they faced Fluminense this evening, with Liam Delap and Pedro part of the group travelling to New Jersey for the fixture.

Fellow new signing Jamie Gittens also made the trip to the MetLife Stadium with the Chelsea squad, but will not be able to take part in the game.

Chelsea confirmed the signing of Gittens on July 5, which was after the deadline to register new players for the competition. FIFA had set a deadline of July 3 for clubs to complete new signings and have them eligible to feature in the tournament.

As a result, Gittens was unable to be part of the matchday squad for Chelsea to face Fluminense.

Another rule also stopped Gittens from featuring for the Blues in the semi-final clash. Due to the winger featuring for Borussia Dortmund earlier in the competition, it meant that he was not able to feature for any other club, including Chelsea.

As a result, the first chance Gittens will have to play for Chelsea could come on August 8 against Bayer Leverkusen in their pre-season friendly at Stamford Bridge.