Chelsea injury news ahead of Brentford as Xabi Alonso gives update on Joao Pedro, Moises Caicedo, Reece James and others
Xabi Alonso has given an update on the fitness of Joao Pedro ahead of Chelsea's clash at Brentford (Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
Xabi Alonso has given an update on the fitness of Joao Pedro ahead of Chelsea's clash at Brentford (Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
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Xabi Alonso has provided a cryptic injury update on Joao Pedro, Moises Caicedo and Reece James ahead of Chelsea's clash with Brentford on Friday night.
Joao Pedro, who has three goals and three assists in four Premier League fixtures this season, pulled out of the Brazil squad ahead of the upcoming injury break due to 'injury'. Caicedo, meanwhile, has not played since limping off against Brighton at the end of August and James was not pictured in the opening part of training on Tuesday.
Speaking to the media at Cobham on Thursday, Alonso was asked to provide an update on the trio but did not give too much away. He said: "In terms of injuries and the squad, we are having the last training session today. Nobody is ruled out for Friday. We will wait until tomorrow to make the final decision."
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Brazil announced on Wednesday that Joao Pedro would not play in the upcoming double header against Australia. Their official announcement discussed the inclusion of Fluminense's Matheus Martinelli and read: "The player will replace Chelsea striker Joao Pedro, who is injured."
When pressed on whether Joao Pedro was training with the squad on Thursday, Alonso replied: "We will see tomorrow if he's ready to play and we will make a decision."
Then, when asked if the striker was disappointed to not be in the Brazil squad after missing the World Cup, Alonso said: "No, he has moved on from the summer, the World Cup, he has a great desire to have a great season. The summer is far away now."
Caicedo has missed five of Chelsea's six games in all competitions this season and has only managed 14 minutes of action. The influential midfielder has been a big miss for Alonso but he is contention to be in the squad on Friday.
"He's getting closer and tomorrow we will make the final decision," Alonso said. He added: "Moi is one of the top midfielders in the world. Any team with Moi in the middle is a better team - and we are aware of that. We will see tomorrow, he has not been able to play and we've had to cope with that situation."
Captain James has featured in all six of Chelsea's matches so far this campaign and played the full 90 minutes of last weekend's 2-2 draw with Hull. The 26-year-old, alongside Caicedo and Joao Pedro, missed the first part of Chelsea's training session on Tuesday and Alonso confirmed a decision will be made on Friday.
Alonso said: "No, it was just a decision for Tuesday. Tomorrow, we will decide."
Elsewhere, Jordan Henderson is in contention to make his first appearance for the west Londoners since sealing a free transfer this summer. The midfielder has been recovering from the freak wrist injury picked up with England at the World Cup but he has been training as normal this week.
Marco Palestra was a regular in pre-season but ahead of the opening fixture of the season, the Italian picked up an injury. The wing-back has been edging closer to a comeback, though, and Alonso said of the defender: "The adaptation is through the competition. It has a good impact to learn quickly. We will be there to help Marco. He has a lot of potential. He has a lot of qualities we are looking for."
Lastly, Emmanuel Emegha sustained a hamstring injury in a behind-closed-doors game in pre-season but the former Strasbourg man is now nearing a return.
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