Chelsea Receive Fitness Boost After Training Return As Alonso Welcomes Back Seven Players | OneFootball

Chelsea need to bounce back from their heavy 3-0 loss to Brentford in the Premier League.

Xabi Alonso welcomed back many Chelsea players on Monday at their Cobham training base.

For those not called up for their respective nations during the extended international break, Alonso gave the Chelsea squad time off to rest and recover after the opening month of the 2026/27 season.

Chelsea have had a mixed start in the Premier League, winning two matches, drawing one, and losing the other two of their five games.

Alonso's Blues are three league games without a win following back-to-back victories to begin the campaign. They headed into the international break following a dismal 3-0 defeat to Brentford in the west London derby.

The break gives Chelsea a chance to reflect and analyse what needs fixing. Defensively, it is obvious what needs to happen - they are conceding far too many goals. Alonso's side have shipped 12 goals in their first five matches.

Chelsea have been hampered by several injury problems to their key players. Reece James, Moises Caicedo, and Joao Pedro were absent against Brentford, while Cole Palmer withdrew from England duty for load management after a muscular issue.

The break offers them the chance to continue their recovery ahead of Chelsea's return on October 10 against AFC Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge.

After Alonso's decision to give them some time off, the Spaniard has now seen many head back to Cobham, where he worked with a small group on Monday.

Seven Chelsea players pictured at Cobham

Chelsea released pictures of those on the grass at Cobham on Monday working with Alonso.

Malo Gusto, Wesley Fofana, Marco Palestra, Levi Colwill, Pep Chavarria, Jordan Henderson and Danny Welbeck were all involved.

James, Caicedo, Pedro and Palmer were nowhere to be seen, but that shouldn't be cause for concern.

Chelsea are likely keeping the quartet's movements under wraps as they look to not give much away ahead of hosting Bournemouth, something which Alonso has hinted at doing in recent weeks to ensure the opposition doesn't get an early idea of who could be available.

The Blues also welcomed back Jamie Gittens following England Under-21s duty. He came off injured against Kazakhstan last week and left the stadium on crutches. The team decided he would leave the England camp and return to Chelsea.