Chelsea's perfect start to the season continued with a 4-3 win over Brighton at the weekend, but a major injury concern has emerged ahead of facing Arsenal. Romeo Lavia, Pedro Neto, Joao Pedro and Cole Palmer scored in the seven-goal thriller at Stamford Bridge, where Emi Martinez made his first appearance for the club after a £7.5million move from Aston Villa.
Caicedo limps off against former club
The goalkeeper will now aim to stop his former club at the Emirates on Sunday, when the Blues play for the first time after the summer window closes. It remains to be seen whether Enzo Fernandez or Robert Sanchez - both left out of the matchday squad against Brighton - will still be at Chelsea for the short trip across London, but Moises Caicedo is a major doubt.
Caicedo returned to the matchday squad against his former club after missing the opening day win over Fulham and the Carabao Cup second round victory at home to Luton Town. He was brought on in the second half shortly after Joao Pedro's own goal had cut the Blues' lead to one.
However, the Chelsea No25 lasted only 14 minutes before limping off to be replaced by another ex-Brighton man in Valentin Barco. Caicedo was visibly upset as he left the pitch, and Xabi Alonso provided an immediate update in the post-match press conference, saying he was hopeful the issue is not too serious.
“Hopefully it wasn’t new, and hopefully it wasn’t more than last time,” Alonso told reporters. “He was cautious to stop and say that he wasn’t feeling the best. We will assess it during the week.”
Henderson and Palestra still out
Potential return date: September 6 vs Arsenal (a).
Jordan Henderson is yet to make an appearance for Chelsea since sealing a free transfer, with England reaching the bronze final match at this summer’s World Cup. The experienced midfielder is still recovering from the freak wrist injury that forced him to undergo surgery after falling over the advertising hoardings when celebrating England’s last-16 defeat of Mexico.
Alonso was asked before the Luton game for an update on Henderson and revealed the 36-year-old is not expected to be available for selection for a while yet. “Jordan will take a little longer, but let's see,” the Chelsea manager said. “I am not a doctor. I don't have the date yet, so we have to wait a little bit longer.”
Potential return date: Unknown.
Marco Palestra, a regular for Chelsea as a wing-back on either flank during pre-season, is still waiting to make his competitive Chelsea debut after missing all three games so far this season. Like Caicedo, the Italian sustained a minor knock in training before the win over Fulham, but has not been seen since as he was ruled out of the Carabao Cup tie against Luton by Alonso.
It is still not clear what Palestra’s injury is or whether he will recover in time to face the Gunners. Potential return date: Unknown.
