Xabi Alonso says he will not “make the same mistake” again and rush Moises Caicedo back from injury as he provided an update on the midfielder’s fitness.
Caicedo was a doubt heading into Sunday’s match against Arsenal at the Emirates and ended up being left out of the squad as the Blues fell to a 2-1 defeat to the Premier League’s defending champions.
The Ecuador captain missed Chelsea’s first two games of the season with a knock and returned last weekend in the 4-3 home win over his former team Brighton.
But Caicedo, a substitute, lasted only 14 minutes before feeling pain and having to be replaced.
He then sat out on Sunday as Morgan Rogers put Chelsea ahead inside two minutes but goals from Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard turned the match on its head and saw Arsenal claim victory.
Alonso was asked for an update on Caicedo after the match and was quizzed on whether it is a longer-term issue.
“Not longer term, but we talk about assessing the risk,” Alonso said.
“Probably last week [against Brighton], we took him too early, and I don’t want to make the same mistake.”
Before the Arsenal clash, Alonso had explained how he sees his midfield options after Chelsea failed to land Monaco signing Lamine Camara on Deadline Day when his move to Stamford Bridge fell through.
“We have different qualities, personalities, like Valentin [Barco],” Alonso said on Friday.
“He is young but he has come with great energy,” Alonso added. “We have Hendo [Jordan Henderson] — he has the composure, the mentality, he knows what is going on in the game so he is getting closer and closer to playing time.
“With Romeo [Lavia], Reece [James] as well, even Malo [Gusto] can play, [Reggie] Watson as well, Mahdi [Nicoll-Jazuli] from the academy.
“We have options and we need to have the right balance, and we think that we have quality, competitiveness for all the season and to face each opponent.”
