JOAO PEDRO TO MISS CHELSEA’S UPCOMING GAMES WITH THIGH INJURY

Chelsea have been dealt an injury blow ahead of Wednesday’s Carabao Cup clash with Liverpool, with forward Joao Pedro expected to be out of action for “a few weeks” due to a thigh injury, head coach Xabi Alonso has confirmed.

Speaking ahead of the trip to Liverpool, Alonso said the Brazilian was unavailable for the upcoming fixtures after picking up the injury that ruled him out of Chelsea’s defeat to Tottenham.

“He has a thigh injury and will be out for a few weeks. How many? We don’t want to predict. He’s not ready for the next games,” Alonso said, according to Sky Sports.

The Chelsea manager described Joao Pedro as an important member of the squad but expressed confidence that his team had enough depth to cope with his absence during a busy run of matches.

“He’s a key player. We will miss him. We will be ready to deal with that and be ready to win games with the players we have available, starting against Liverpool. We are ready to fight and show a good level,” he added.

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Alonso stressed that building a competitive squad required having suitable alternatives available when key players were injured, urging his team to focus on finding solutions rather than making excuses.

“This is why you build a squad. Yes, players are important, but you need to build a squad. You look for solutions rather than excuses,” he said.

Alonso says Palmer knows he made a mistake

Meanwhile, Alonso said midfielder Cole Palmer understood his mistake after being sent off against Tottenham, a dismissal that rules him out of the Liverpool encounter through suspension.

The Chelsea boss revealed that he had spoken with Palmer and believed the England international recognised that the incident could have been avoided.

“We spoke and for sure he knows the mistake he made. Things that you can avoid. I hope that this is not going to be repeated. He’s aware of that, he’s mature and it was a mistake,” Alonso said.

Despite Palmer’s suspension, Alonso expressed confidence in the midfielder’s relationship with his teammates, saying the club wanted him to remain happy and enjoy his football.

“He’s in a good space, he connects very well socially with his teammates. They like him, they want Cole smiling, they want Cole having fun, enjoying his game because when we see that, he’ll have a better team,” he added.