Chelsea count injuries before Brentford after trio absent from training | OneFootball

Chelsea face an injury crisis before Friday’s west London derby at Brentford after three first-team players missed Tuesday morning’s training, including Joao Pedro.

Sky Sports reports that Pedro was not seen during the open section of the session. The Brazilian has three goals and three assists in five appearances, and he salvaged a point with a late equaliser at Hull City on Saturday.

Club captain Reece James and midfielder Moises Caicedo were also absent from the main group. James has operated in central midfield this season, playing the full 90 minutes in three of Chelsea’s four league matches and appearing to finish at Hull untroubled.

Caicedo’s fitness issues pre-date the weekend. He has yet to start this season, made a 14-minute cameo in the 4-3 win over Brighton, then suffered a recurrence that ruled him out against Arsenal and Leeds.

Last week, head coach Xabi Alonso said Caicedo was not yet ready and that they would see about Brentford, stressing he would not take risks with the 24-year-old.

There was brighter news on Tuesday as summer signings Marco Palestra and Jordan Henderson trained fully with the squad. Both are edging closer to debuts.

Chelsea visit Keith Andrews’ Brentford on Friday evening seeking a response to last weekend’s draw, and fringe players may be asked to step in if the trio remain unavailable.

Source: Goal.com

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