Caicedo, Henderson, Emegha: Alonso Offers Triple Chelsea Fitness Update For Arsenal Clash | OneFootball

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Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso has confirmed he is yet to decide whether Moises Caicedo will be involved in Sunday’s Premier League derby against Arsenal.

Caicedo suffered a setback during Chelsea’s 4-3 win over Brighton last Sunday.

The midfielder came on as a substitute in the second half, but only stayed on the pitch for 14 minutes before being forced off with an apparent issue.

It was his first appearance this season, having missed Chelsea’s first two games against Fulham and Nottingham Forest due to a knock in training.

Alonso has had to rely on Reece James and Malo Gusto, who are primarily right-backs, to cover in midfield.

While Chelsea still got the job done and secured three consecutive wins despite Caicedo’s absence, the team may need their star midfielder to beat London rivals Arsenal for the first time in five years.

It was interesting that Alonso did not seem too concerned with the Ecuador international’s possible absence this weekend.

“We will check tomorrow,” the Chelsea boss said about the midfielder’s injury situation in his Thursday’s press conference.

“Tomorrow is the last session for the squad on Sunday. We need to not worry about the things that happened. We will make the final decision tomorrow.”

Henderson is not there yet, says Alonso

While there is a possibility that Caicedo may feature against Arsenal, this is unlikely to be the case for summer signing Jordan Henderson.

The veteran midfielder has yet to fully recover after fracturing his forearm during the World Cup and may have to wait for his Chelsea debut, hopefully not for long.

“He's getting closer and closer to playing time,” Alonso added about Henderson.

Another Chelsea summer signing who has yet to make his debut is Emmanuel Emegha. The young striker joined from Strasbourg on a pre-agreed deal and was among the players present on the first day of Chelsea’s pre-season in late July.

Unfortunately, Emegha sustained a hamstring injury during one of Chelsea’s behind-closed-doors friendlies and had to be left out of the team’s pre-season tour in Australia and Asia.

“He had an injury and missed a lot of pre-season, so I'm sorry for him,” Alonso added.

The Netherlands international already made the bench in Chelsea’s Carabao Cup win over Luton Town, which indicates that he has already recovered.

Chelsea currently sit fourth in the Premier League table, two positions behind Arsenal, who are ahead on goal difference. These are two of the only four clubs to have won their first two league games, alongside Manchester City and Hull City.

The trip to the Emirates Stadium is arguably Chelsea’s first real test this season. A win, which would end their winless run against Arsenal since August 2021, would likely put Chelsea in the title race conversation.