Alonso refuses to confirm Pedro fitness ahead of Chelsea’s Brentford trip

Xabi Alonso refused on Thursday to say whether Joao Pedro will be available for Chelsea’s Premier League trip to the Gtech Community Stadium to face Brentford on Friday, with the fixture listed for 19th September at 12:30 am IST. He said the club will decide only after the final training session.

Joao Pedro withdrew from Carlo Ancelotti’s team for the forthcoming international window because of injury, a move confirmed by the Brazilian FA on Wednesday. Alonso had been expected to confirm Pedro’s inclusion in his squad during Thursday’s pre-match news conference but said the Blues, who trained at Cobham on Friday morning, will continue to monitor several players.

Alonso told reporters: “In terms of injuries and in terms of the squad we are having the last training session tomorrow so no-one is ruled out for us for Friday.” He added: “So I prefer to be cautious and we will wait until tomorrow to take the final decision on every player. We will see tomorrow if Joao is ready to play, it’s a possibility.”

Moises Caicedo has not featured since he was withdrawn 13 minutes into Chelsea’s season-opening 4-3 win at Brighton last month, and Alonso said Caicedo is progressing. “He’s (Caicedo) getting closer and tomorrow we will take the final decision on the team and on the squad that is coming to Brentford,” Alonso said.

Captain Reece James was not photographed at Tuesday’s training session; the media were shown only the first 15 minutes. Alonso addressed James specifically: “For Reece, it was just a decision for Tuesday and we see his development and tomorrow we will decide.”

Alonso confirmed Marco Palestra, Jordan Henderson and Emmanuel Emegha will also be assessed ahead of selection as he keeps the matchday squad under wraps. Last week he said he intended to have all three of Chelsea’s summer acquisitions ready to make their competitive debut against Brentford, but those selections have not yet been revealed.

Alonso reiterated that final calls on availability will be made after the team’s last training session tomorrow, with the travelling squad for the 19th September, 12:30 am IST fixture against Brentford to be confirmed thereafter.