Xabi Alonso Provides Injury Update Ahead of Chelsea's Carabao Cup Tie

Xabi Alonso has ruled Moises Caicedo and Marco Palestra out of Chelsea’s Carabao Cup tie against Luton Town on Wednesday – but moved quickly to calm nerves over Enzo Fernandez.

Caicedo, who has been working his way back from a knock, is targeting a return at the weekend. Palestra’s situation is less clear, with the club set to run further checks before putting any timeline on his comeback.

“Both not for tomorrow,” Alonso said, drawing a firm line under any hope of a late surprise. “Hopefully Moi can make it for the weekend. Maybe we need to check a little bit more with Marco.”

If that was the bad news, the Enzo update was anything but.

With speculation swirling and Manchester City expected to test Chelsea’s resolve over the midfielder, Alonso insisted the World Cup winner remains part of his immediate plans.

“Yes, so we expect that he’s involved, he’s trained, he’s training really well, he’s a good professional and he will be involved,” Alonso said, making it clear he sees no reason to sideline the Argentine while the market circles.

Asked bluntly whether he wants Fernandez to stay at Stamford Bridge, Alonso didn’t hide behind the rumours.

“We want to have the best team possible. We know his qualities, he has shown it and we have to wait, but we will think about tomorrow and let’s see how things develop.”

Injuries, noise around a star midfielder, a cup tie that could set the tone: Chelsea walk into Wednesday night juggling all three. How long Enzo remains at the heart of that picture is the question that now hangs over the rest of their week.