Chelsea hero Mario Melchiot believes Tammy Abraham may have to leave to fulfill his potential.

Abraham was absent from the match day squad as Chelsea were beaten 1-0 by Leicester City in the FA Cup final, despite the forward being their top scorer in the competition.

In a now-deleted post on Instagram, Abraham's girlfriend Leah Monroe slammed the decision.

Speaking after the game, Melchiot told Stadium Astro: "This was not a game that Tammy would have – he could have affected the game if he was part of it but this game was not lost because he was not part of it.

"When we talk about wives or girlfriends… I've never been in the situation where I've allowed my Mrs to talk to any of the press situation because I make my decisions and I don't want her to get involved.

"If he lets his Mrs talk, managers will not respect that. They would pull me to the side and be like, 'Hey, are you making the decisions or do you want someone else to make them for you so they can also play the game for you?'.

"That's what they would say to me and that's why I never wanted that conversation with a [Claudio] Ranieri. Ranieri did that, he would make jokes with us, he'd say 'If you want to have a big mouth do it at home with your wife, don't do it here in the dressing room.'

"Steve Bruce didn't allow that, too. When it comes to that situation, that's my answer to it. Have a conversation with your partner and do it privately and don't let that person get involved with your football.

"She is never going to win, that is one of the things I will tell you. Who is then the loser eventually? The player because he's got to face the critics and it's never going to be good for him.

"It does not look good. It doesn't look good to anything: dressing room, players, captain, your coach. Leave that out. Emotionally, I understand it. I would be the same if Tammy would have been my nephew or my brother, I would have thought the same like her.

"But would I open my mouth? No."