Overview
- Alonso accepted on Monday that he made a mistake by rushing Moises Caicedo back into action and said he will avoid repeating that error to protect the player's longer-term fitness.
- Caicedo has had an interrupted start to the season, missing the first two league games, lasting 14 minutes against Brighton before being withdrawn, and then failing a late fitness test that kept him out of Sunday’s 2-1 defeat to Arsenal.
- Caicedo is now a doubt for Wednesday’s Carabao Cup tie with Leeds, which could force Alonso to change his XI for the midweek match and preserve players for priority Premier League fixtures.
- New signing Marco Palestra remains sidelined and has missed early competitive games, while Jordan Henderson has returned to first-team training and is progressing toward match fitness.
- Chelsea’s midfield disruption after Enzo Fernandez’s departure has coincided with defensive problems — seven goals conceded in three league games — creating short-term selection trade-offs and pressure on Alonso’s rotation decisions.