Pat Nevin believes Oscar holds the key to salvaging Chelsea’s Premier League season.

The 24-year-old has been sidelined for the past month after he picked up an injury in first-team training ahead of their 3-0 defeat by Manchester City at The Etihad.

He won’t be doing the amazing sexy things that Eden Hazard does, but the work he does high up the pitch, what a difference it makes to them Pat Nevin

In Oscar’s absence, Chelsea have notched up one win and back-to-back defeats which have left the defending champions in 17th place in the Premier League table.

And former Chelsea winger Nevin earmarked Oscar as a big miss for Jose Mourinho, adding that the Brazilian could salvage the west London side’s season if he returns in good form.

“Not many Chelsea fans would agree with me on this, but I think the most important player at the club right now is Oscar,” Nevin told Newstalk’s Off The Ball.

“If you play a No10, you usually play a 4-2-3-1. If you play a No10, he usually sits back and let’s the game go past him as the likes of Fabregas will do when he’s not on the ball.

“Or else, you’re Oscar, who will close down better than everyone else and push everything up the park and get the odd interception.

“Oscar hasn’t been there for a little while. They look dull and quiet and unable to take teams on.

Nevin added: “I suspect they need Oscar back at his very, very best.

“He won’t be doing the amazing sexy things that Eden Hazard does, but the work he does high up the pitch, what a difference it makes to them.”

Oscar, who scored in Chelsea’s 2-2 draw with Swansea in their opening Premier League game of the season, trained with his team-mates on Tuesday ahead of tonight’s clash against Maccabi Tel-Aviv.

The 24-year-old playmaker scored six times in 27 appearances in Chelsea’s title-winning campaign.

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The Blues welcome Arsenal to Stamford Bridge in the Premier League on Saturday.