Chelsea will be without Moises Caicedo, Marco Palestra and Jordan Henderson for Wednesday’s EFL Cup third round tie against Leeds United, with potential return dates now emerging for two of the three.
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Alonso confirms trio miss Leeds clash
Chelsea host Leeds United at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, and Xabi Alonso has confirmed he’ll be missing three key names for the visit of Daniel Farke’s unbeaten side. Caicedo, Palestra and Henderson are all unavailable, though the update does at least give us some clarity on timing for two of them.
Caicedo suffered his injury in the second half of Chelsea’s win over Brighton a couple of weeks ago, having only just returned to action when he replaced Romeo Lavia. He needed assistance to leave the pitch less than 15 minutes later, then missed Sunday’s 2-1 defeat to Arsenal. Alonso has now ruled him out of Leeds too, with a potential return date of Saturday, September 12 against Hull City. Our recent Caicedo injury update covers the background on how this one developed.
Palestra picked up a knock in the build-up to the opening-day win over Fulham and had been one of Alonso’s first names on the team-sheet throughout pre-season. Pedro Neto has filled in at right wing-back in his absence, and Alonso says it’s still too early to risk him against Leeds. Same potential return date as Caicedo: Saturday, September 12 versus Hull City.
Henderson’s situation is less clear cut. His broken wrist, sustained at the World Cup, has hampered his training and match fitness ever since, and Alonso couldn’t put a return date on him this time, only saying he hopes to know more later this week. Anyone who followed Henderson’s arrival at Chelsea will know how much the club were hoping for a smoother start to his spell at Stamford Bridge.
Emmanuel Emegha is also out with a hamstring injury picked up earlier in the summer, and like Henderson, there’s no firm date on his return yet either.
Chelsea sit fourth in the Premier League after wins over Fulham and Brighton either side of Sunday’s loss to Arsenal, while Leeds arrive ninth and unbeaten thanks to a win over Nottingham Forest and draws with Brentford and Brighton. Alonso will hope for clearer news on Henderson and Emegha before Saturday’s home league game against Hull, by which point Caicedo and Palestra could both be back in contention.
In other news…
Read more on Moises Caicedo’s fitness situation as Chelsea manage his return to full training.
Catch up on Jordan Henderson’s move to Chelsea and what it means for his role under Alonso.
Download the Chelsea News app for the latest Blues news, transfer updates and match coverage straight to your phone.
Listen to the latest Chelsea News podcast for more on the Blues’ injury situation and the Leeds cup tie.
