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Chelsea are still sweating on the fitness of Reece James ahead of their clash with Everton this weekend.
However, there was far better news elsewhere as Joao Pedro and Moises Caicedo were both passed fit to start after respective knee and calf problems - likewise Cole Palmer after his withdrawal from England duty at the start of an extended three-week international break.
Marco Palestra also made his competitive Chelsea debut off the bench after getting injured during the final days of pre-season, significantly reducing Xabi Alonso’s extensive injury list that had begun to reach worrying levels.
Reece James
James was forced to withdraw from international duty last month after suffering another hamstring injury in training, but had been expected to return to Chelsea contention against Bournemouth.
After three weeks of rest he had returned to full team training and was slated to start next to the fit-again Caicedo in midfield, but ended up being omitted from the matchday squad altogether in a shock.
It was initially revealed ahead of kick-off that James had suffered an injury in training on the eve of the match. Head coach Alonso said: “Unfortunately, Reece picked up a little injury yesterday, so we’ll see [in the coming days].”
After full-time, Alonso revealed that the injury was to James’ knee. He said: “He felt something.
“After that, he had the tests later in the afternoon [on Friday]. He had some little issues on the knee.
“We need to check how long it will be. We need to assess him week-by-week.”
It is not yet clear exactly how long James will be sidelined, but the “week-by-week” prognosis suggests he may be facing a little while out.
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Jamie Gittens
After impressing throughout pre-season, Jamie Gittens has only played 56 competitive minutes for Chelsea this term so far, largely due to injury.
He joined up with England’s Under-21s during the international window, but took a painful kick against Kazakhstan in a European Championship qualifier at Molineux and was later pictured on crutches and wearing a protective boot. He left camp early for further assessment at Cobham.
Speaking before the Bournemouth game, Alonso confirmed that Gittens was facing approximately three weeks out.
“That is the bad news from this international break, that he picked up an injury in his ankle,” Alonso said. “He is going to be out for a few weeks.”
Gittens will be in a race against time to come back before the end of the month.
The Dutch striker - a summer signing from Chelsea’s BlueCo sister club Strasbourg - picked up a hamstring injury during pre-season after initially impressing and scoring in a pair of behind-closed-doors friendlies, but is now back in first-team training.
In spite of that fact, he was left out of the squad completely to face Bournemouth, raising more questions regarding his fitness.
His exclusion, though, could simply be down to the fact that he sits below the in-form Joao Pedro and Danny Welbeck in the striking pecking order under Alonso.