Chelsea injury concerns as Lacroix, Martínez, Pedro and others face doubts ahead of Manchester United visit
Chelsea will host Manchester United at Stamford Bridge in a Premier League 2026-27 match on Saturday, October 31, 2026, with several first-team players listed as injury doubts ahead of the fixture.
The match comes after Chelsea dropped out of the top four following a home defeat by Tottenham Hotspur and an EFL Cup fourth-round loss to Liverpool in which the Reds prevailed on penalties, results that have increased pressure on head coach Xabi Alonso as he seeks a response against Manchester United.
Maxence Lacroix, a summer signing from Crystal Palace who has been a regular in Chelsea’s defence, sustained an injury while tracking Cody Gakpo during the cup clash with Liverpool and was substituted before half-time, raising concerns over a possible hamstring problem; Alonso said: "Too early to tell. Probably he felt something on the hamstrings. And we need a couple of days to check what’s going to be the injury." The club view is that Lacroix is unlikely to feature against Manchester United.
Joao Pedro suffered a thigh injury in training ahead of the Spurs match and has missed Chelsea’s last two games; Alonso has ruled him out for a "few weeks" and said he will not return before the international break.
Emiliano Martínez broke his jaw after a collision with Jarrad Branthwaite against Everton and has undergone surgery; Alonso offered updates before the Spurs match: "Emi is doing better. He had the surgery and day by day he is feeling better, but we still need to wait," adding, "A few weeks. Hopefully, less than more, but we need to wait." He also said: "The good thing is that he is feeling better and we need to listen to his feelings, the opinions of the doctors, the specialists, the surgeons. Considering it was a bad one, he is doing good." Backup goalkeeper Mike Penders deputised in Martínez's absence and the Belgian scored an own goal on his Premier League starting debut against Spurs, while "Sources with knowledge of his rehabilitation indicate there is optimism he could now return sooner than that timeframe."
Jamie Gittens remains sidelined with an ankle injury sustained on England Under-21 duty and is expected to be out for several more weeks, Pep Chavarria has returned to some team training after picking up an injury during a session several weeks ago, and captain Reece James continues as a long-term absentee after undergoing what the club described as "minor" knee surgery following a training injury that came after an initial hamstring concern before the international break.
Chelsea will host Manchester United at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, October 31, 2026, with Maxence Lacroix, Joao Pedro, Emiliano Martínez, Jamie Gittens and Reece James among the players carrying injury doubts for the fixture.