Chelsea are facing fresh injury concerns after their 2-0 Premier League win over Everton, with goalkeeper Emi Martinez breaking his jaw and undergoing surgery following a sickening clash of heads.
Xabi Alonso's side made it back-to-back victories since the international break thanks to a second-half brace from Pedro Neto at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday, following a 5-1 home win over Bournemouth. However, an injury list that had been reduced by recent returns for Joao Pedro, Cole Palmer, Moises Caicedo and Marco Palestra is growing again, with captain Reece James set to miss several months after knee surgery.
Emi Martinez out with broken jaw
Martinez performed well against Everton, making important saves before rushing out to punch clear a deep free-kick and coming off worse in an accidental clash of heads with Jarrad Branthwaite. The match was delayed by 10 minutes as Martinez received treatment and was stretchered off before being taken to hospital for precautionary checks.
"What we know is he left the stadium conscious and right now he is in the hospital doing precautionary tests," Alonso said. "It was concussion but more than that I saw only one clip. Hopefully it won't be too bad but we need to wait."
It later emerged that Martinez had broken his jaw and underwent surgery. He posted on social media on Sunday morning with a picture in a hospital gown, alongside the message: "Thanks to everyone for the messages. The operation went well. The most important thing is that we won, and kept a clean sheet. In a few weeks we'll be back."
With Robert Sanchez loaned to Como, 21-year-old deputy Mike Penders replaced Martinez at Everton and is now in line to start over the coming weeks. Potential return date: November.
Chavarria and Gusto absent at Everton
Pep Chavarria was set to make his third consecutive Premier League start at left wing-back but dropped out of the matchday squad due to an unspecified issue picked up in training at Cobham on Friday, with Jorrel Hato taking his place.
"[Pep had] a little problem yesterday; we are not certain of the situation yet because it was late. Jorrel is fit and has played there, so it's just that change," Alonso said. Hato will be expected to keep his starting spot if Chavarria does not recover in time to face Spurs. Potential return date: Unknown, pending further assessment.
Malo Gusto was also absent, with Alonso confirming his omission was due to illness rather than injury, so he should be back available against Tottenham. Potential return date: Saturday October 24, vs Tottenham (H).
James, Gittens and Emegha sidelined
Reece James missed the 3-0 defeat by Brentford before the international break with a hamstring issue, then suffered a knee problem during training at Cobham. He underwent surgery described as "successful" and "minor", though Standard Sport understands he is not expected back for approximately three months. Potential return date: Mid-January.
Jamie Gittens picked up an ankle injury while playing for England's Under-21s against Kazakhstan at Molineux last month and was spotted using crutches after the game. Alonso said before the Everton match: "Not yet. Still a few weeks." Potential return date: November.
Emmanuel Emegha has yet to appear competitively for Chelsea after a promising pre-season following a move from Strasbourg. He scored in successive behind-closed-doors friendlies against Crawley and Bromley but suffered a hamstring injury against the latter and has not been involved since, bar an unused substitute role against Luton in the Carabao Cup in August.
Alonso said of Emegha: "He's not yet [available]. He felt something [on Thursday], a little thing. He's going to be training next week but he's still not 100 per cent fit to be playing in the game. When he's fit, he is very special because he's 195 centimetres (6ft 5ins). He's quick, he attacks the space, he's a threat. So he needs to be fully fit and at this moment he's having little things and unfortunately he's not been available. But we are looking forward to that. He feels good and he can help the team but he's going to be difficult for the defenders when he's in good shape."
Potential return date: November, with Chelsea next facing Tottenham at Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening.
