Chelsea face uncertainty over the fitness of Moises Caicedo and Joao Pedro ahead of Bournemouth's visit to Stamford Bridge on Saturday, with Reece James and Cole Palmer also among the players carrying injuries.
Palmer and Caicedo fitness doubts
Cole Palmer pulled out of the England squad for the start of the 2026/27 Nations League, prompting coach Thomas Tuchel to lament that the player "misses way too many camps". Palmer, hampered for much of last season by a long-term groin injury, reportedly went abroad on holiday and worked on his fitness with a rehabilitation coach. There seems to be hope he will be available against Bournemouth.
Moises Caicedo has been used for only 14 minutes this season due to a persistent calf issue, limiting him to one substitute appearance against former club Brighton, which quickly ended with him being brought off again. Ecuador did not call him up for friendlies against South Korea, Japan and Panama to help him fully shake off the problem. Caicedo was not involved against Brentford, though manager Xabi Alonso had suggested he was close.
Joao Pedro and Reece James updates
Joao Pedro, Chelsea's reigning player of the season, rescued a draw at home to newly-promoted Hull on his last appearance, but an injury subsequently emerged and he missed the 3-0 defeat by Brentford before the international break. The issue also caused him to withdraw from Carlo Ancelotti's Brazil squad, with Standard Sport understanding he has been receiving treatment from a knee specialist. Initial reports in his homeland suggested the former Brighton frontman could be out for up to four weeks.
Captain Reece James missed the defeat at Brentford with the latest in a long line of hamstring injuries and was unavailable for England selection. However, Alonso said before that game that James only just missed out, so he is expected to be back some three weeks later when Chelsea take on Bournemouth.
Other first-team absentees
Marco Palestra, Chelsea's £27million summer signing from Atalanta, has yet to make his competitive debut after picking up a muscle injury in training before their opening match against Fulham. He has been seen back training fully at Cobham and was expected to face Portsmouth in a behind-closed-doors match before hoping for a first Premier League chance against Bournemouth.
Jamie Gittens started for England's Under-21s in their 2027 European Championship qualifier against Kazakhstan at Molineux but was taken off late in the first half with an ankle injury. He was later spotted on crutches and returned to Chelsea early for assessment and treatment.
Emmanuel Emegha, like Palestra, has yet to make his competitive Chelsea debut due to a hamstring injury sustained after scoring in a behind-closed-doors friendly win against Bromley in July. He has been pictured in training throughout the international break and seems to be pushing to be involved against Bournemouth.
Back-up goalkeeper Mike Penders suffered a quad injury in training with Belgium, which saw him omitted from Mark van Bommel's squads to face Italy and France. He returned to the bench against Turkey and France and has been pictured in first-team training at Cobham this week.
