Double injury boost for Xabi Alonso as Chelsea prepare to take on Bournemouth
Xabi Alonso has had to endure more than his fair share of injuries since he took over as manager of Chelsea. But ahead of Bournemouth, he’s received two pieces of good news today.
Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro withdrew from the England and Brazil squads for the international break, while Reece James, Marco Palestra and Moises Caicedo stayed at Cobham to recover from their injuries.
Since then, Chelsea have suffered two more injuries during the break. Mike Penders has missed Belgium’s first two games due to a quadriceps injury, while Jamie Gittens was spotted on crutches last week.
Xabi Alonso finally receives some good injury news
Chelsea are confident that Pedro, Palmer, James, Caicedo and Palestra will all be fit enough to play against Bournemouth next week. Caicedo and Palestra may need time to recover, having not played this term.
Now, more good news at Chelsea. Romeo Lavia came off early against France, albeit on 85 minutes, and the midfielder said he had cramp. Belgium manager Mark van Bommel has now delivered an update.
Chelsea signed more experienced players this summer to get SERIOUS! What impact has it made on the team so far? 🤔
“Romeo came on as a substitute against Italy and played 85 minutes against France. He did a fantastic job. You can already assume that I won’t be starting him. #CFC are being cautious with him, so are we.”
Meanwhile, Mike Penders is available again for Belgium
A double injury boost. Penders remained in Tubeke last week after picking up a muscle injury, and it saw him fail to make the bench against Italy and then France. But Penders has now returned to training.
It seems both Lavia and Penders will be in action against Turkey on Friday night, before taking on France again next week. Even if both Lavia and Penders will be on the bench tomorrow when Belgium play.
For now, Alonso has kept his best players fresh and those on international duty; only Gittens has an injury. Hopefully for Chelsea, there won’t be any more injuries before they take on Bournemouth on the 10th.
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