Chelsea had 12 first-team players representing their nations over the international break, and most are likely to return to the training ground at Cobham on Thursday. Geovany Quenda, Morgan Rogers, Josh Acheampong, Mike Penders, Jorrel Hato, Romeo Lavia, Maxence Lacroix and Pedro Neto are all set to re-join Xabi Alonso’s squad this week. The players travelled for the break following a chastening 3-0 loss to Brentford.
Individual schedules may see some players return slightly earlier or later than expected. Estevao Willian of Brazil and Argentina’s Emiliano Martinez and Valentin Barco will need to be managed with greater care as South American internationals often arrive in the United Kingdom after their European counterparts.
Argentina’s late-night friendly against Benin was Lionel Messi’s farewell appearance. As it only just happened, Martinez and Barco therefore cannot arrive in England before Thursday at the earliest and may manage only one session at Cobham before the weekend. This may complicate preparations for a demanding match. Estevao, who played in India on Saturday, has a longer window to reacclimatise.
Maxence Lacroix logged the most minutes, amassing 273 for France. Martinez played 259 for Argentina, Neto 258 for Portugal, and Rogers 220 for England, while Barco only managed 55 and Penders none for Belgium. Lavia accumulated 217 minutes, Acheampong 180 for England Under-21s, Estevao 172 for Brazil, Quenda 168 for Portugal Under-21s and Hato 32 for the Netherlands.
The 12th player, Jamie Gittens, suffered an ankle problem while with England Under-21s. Penders, on the other hand, appears to have shrugged off a quadriceps issue which he suffered with Belgium.
Chelsea’s Bournemouth Test Arrives Amid Mounting Injury Concerns
Chelsea host Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge on Saturday with Alonso’s side having picked up seven points from five Premier League fixtures. Following wins against Fulham and Brighton, the Blues picked up just one point from three matches, including the defeat at Brentford on September 18.
Alonso faces a long casualty list, with Joao Pedro, Moises Caicedo, Cole Palmer, Reece James, Marco Palestra, Emmanuel Emegha and Gittens all named as either absent or doubts. Some of them yet have potential return dates of October 10.
Bournemouth, managed by Marco Rose, have been winless in the league this season. Rogers, Chelsea’s top scorer with three goals, might be crucial against the visitors’ porous defence.