Xabi Alonso Rules Four Chelsea Players Out Of Carabao Cup Tie vs Leeds United | OneFootball

Previewing Chelsea's Carabao Cup third round tie against Leeds United.

Xabi Alonso has provided an injury update on five Chelsea players ahead of Wednesday’s Carabao Cup third-round tie against Leeds United.

Moises Caicedo was among the Chelsea absentees in their 2-1 Premier League defeat to Arsenal on Sunday.

Last week, Alonso initially hinted at Caicedo’s potential return for the trip to the Emirates Stadium, but he eventually decided not to take risks given the midfielder’s injury setback.

The Chelsea manager maintains this stance ahead of Leeds United’s visit to Stamford Bridge on Thursday.

“Not yet,” Alonso admitted on Tuesday’s press conference when asked if Caicedo and Marco Palestra would be ready to play.

“They're still not ready to go. It's not the moment to take too early a risk. We'll go game by game with them, but it's too early.”

Alonso admitted that he sympathises with Palestra, whose unfortunate injury has prevented him from making his debut for Chelsea.

Palestra featured a lot during pre-season after his summer arrival from Atalanta.

“Especially for him,” Alonso said about frustration over Palestra’s injury. “He came with huge energy and huge desire to enjoy the Premier League.

However, Caicedo may return for Saturday’s Premier League home fixture against Hull City.

“Potentially, yes, but we will have to wait,” Alonso added about Caicedo’s potential return at the weekend. “Probably Thursday or Friday, we will know more.”

Another duo also out, but Levi Colwill is good to go

Similarly, summer signings Jordan Henderson and Emmanuel Emegha are not expected to feature in the League Cup tie.

“No, not yet. How far? Ask me on Friday,” said the Chelsea boss on the pair’s availability.

Emegha’s fitness situation is quite interesting. He made the bench in Chelsea’s win over Luton Town in late August, but was left out of the squad in the next two games. He is also still waiting for his official Chelsea debut.

On a more positive note, Colwill got the green light to play.

The centre-back had a “little” fitness issue last week, which led to his omission from the starting line-up against Arsenal. He still made the bench, but did not feature.

Wesley Fofana ended up playing on the left of the back three against Arsenal, while Maxence Lacroix and Josh Acheampong started in the middle and on the right, respectively.

“He's okay for tomorrow,” Alonso confirmed on Tuesday regarding Colwill.

Alonso has to keep in mind the weekend’s clash with Hull City when making his team decisions, so some rotations are expected against Leeds.

It would have been a perfect opportunity for Caicedo, Palestra, Henderson, or Emegha to get some minutes under their belt were they fit enough to play, too.

Even so, several other players in the squad must be hungry for minutes, such as Pep Chavarria, Valentin Barco, Jamie Gittens, and Geovany Quenda, and they will likely get their opportunities in this match.