It’s been a long time since Chelsea fans saw Gary Cahill on a football pitch.

His last appearance was in the Blues’ penultimate Europa League group stage fixture in November, playing 90 minutes of the 4-0 win over PAOK.

But that was only the seventh outing of what’s been an agonising season for Cahill.

Despite nominating the 33-year-old as his captain last summer, Maurizio Sarri has limited him to a mere 561 minutes of football.

Meanwhile, Antonio Rudiger and David Luiz have forged a reliable partnership in the heart of the Premier League’s fourth-tightest defence.

There comes a time in the career of every club legend when they’re no longer the indispensable asset they once were.

However, after starting nearly three-quarters of the Blues’ league matches under Antonio Conte last season, Cahill must feel a bit hard done by.

The centre-back will bid farewell to Stamford Bridge against Watford on Sunday afternoon, though without fond memories of his current manager it seems.

“It's been really terrible for me personally,” Cahill told the Telegraph.

“It will just be erased out of my head when I leave Chelsea. My last memory will be last season's FA Cup final.

“It's been very difficult. I have played on a regular basis over the previous six seasons and I've won everything with Chelsea, so to be watching from the stands is something I didn't expect.

“I know how the whole club works, I've got a big relationship with all the players and staff, and yet none of that has been utilised.

“If you are not playing a player, any player, for two, three, four games, then you don't have to give a reason for that. But if it gets to eight or nine games, then you have to explain the situation. What's going on? But the manager hasn't done that.

“I see some of the situations with players who won the title with Chelsea, not just myself, and it just hasn't been right.

"It makes it very hard for me to have respect for someone who has not respected what some of us have won with the club.”

That’s some pretty significant criticism coming from a player who’s still under contract.

Following Cahill’s comments, coupled with Sarri’s apparent aversion to sentiment, it will be intriguing to see if he gives him one last runout when the Hornets visit west London.

But given Chelsea’s vulnerable position in the race for Champions League football, it seems unlikely.

Has Sarri treated Cahill too harshly this season? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment.