Chelsea boss Xabi Alonso has confirmed that Joao Pedro’s thigh injury will sideline the star striker, with the club now assessing how many games he will miss.
Pedro suffered the injury during training in the build-up to Saturday’s shock 2-0 loss at home to struggling Tottenham. When the teams were announced and it was revealed that Pedro was missing, Alonso stated that the severity of the injury was not known and tests had to be conducted.
Timeline for return
Speaking ahead of the Blues’ trip to Anfield to face Liverpool in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup, Alonso gave a rough timeline for Pedro’s absence.
Alonso shared: “He has an injury to his thigh and he is going to be out for a few weeks. Let’s see how many. We don’t want to predict on that, but he is not ready for the next games.”
The side’s performances have suffered when Pedro is missing from the team. With the 25-year-old absent against Brentford, Chelsea struggled, while Saturday’s defeat to London rivals Spurs saw the Blues look relatively toothless without Pedro leading the line.
Striker options
Chelsea’s options up top include veteran striker Danny Welbeck, Estevao, and summer signing Emmanuel Emegha, who has just returned from injury himself.
At the weekend Alonso attempted to use Morgan Rogers as a replacement striker, but that experiment did not fare well as the midfielder struggled to get into the game.
Games Pedro will miss
Pedro will definitely miss the Liverpool cup tie, with Alonso’s comments also ruling out the former Brighton attacker for Saturday’s lunch-time kick-off against Manchester United.
While a few weeks is quite vague, it suggests that Pedro will also be absent for Chelsea’s trip to Sunderland the following weekend. Alonso’s charges travel north to Weirside on Sunday, November 8 to face the Black Cats.
The blow dealt by Pedro’s injury is softened slightly by the upcoming international break. After the Sunderland game, Chelsea are not in action for 13 days, limiting the amount of games the Brazilian will miss. If Pedro is only out for a ‘few weeks’, Chelsea fans will hope he will be back for the clash with Leeds United on Saturday, November 21.
Chelsea fixtures Joao Pedro could miss: Already missed: October 24 vs Tottenham (H); October 28 vs Liverpool (A); October 31 vs Manchester United (H); November 8 vs Sunderland (A).
