Moises Caicedo and Marco Palestra will miss Chelsea’s Carabao Cup tie against Luton Town, Xabi Alonso has confirmed.
The pair missed Chelsea’s Premier League opener against Fulham on Monday night, with the Blues manager revealing those absences were due to suffering setbacks prior to the London derby.
In Caicedo’s absence, Romeo Lavia was drafted in to play alongside captain Reece James in central midfield, while Jorrel Hato and Malo Gusto operated as the wing-backs.
Chelsea are next in action on Thursday night, facing Luton in the Carabao Cup second round at Stamford Bridge and Alonso has provided an injury update.
“Not for tomorrow. Both,” he said in Wednesday’s pre-match press conference.
“Let’s hope Moi can make it for the weekend. We need to check a little bit more with Marco.”
Alonso also added that Cole Palmer is fit to face Luton as there are no fresh injury concerns following the win over Fulham.
Enzo Fernandez will be involved for Chelsea despite links with Manchester City, while Mike Penders is in contention to replace Robert Sanchez in goal.
“Yes. We expect him to be involved,” the Spaniard said of Fernandez. “He's training really well and he will be involved.
“He's [Penders] in the squad and will have an opportunity.
However, Alonso insists he will show respect to Luton with the team selection, especially as Chelsea are not in European competition this season.
He added: "I have to say, knowing that we have time for all of the competitions. Every cup is important. We want to have the best possible team to face Luton and treat it with the respect it deserves.”
