Xabi Alonso has been nursing some injuries since his arrival at Chelsea. The international break provided a good break in play to get a number of his key men back fit including Moises Caicedo, Cole Palmer, and Joao Pedro. The good times only lasted so long as Reece James ended up getting surgery over a knee issue, while full-back Pep Chavarria missed the squad for the win over Everton last weekend. Ahead of the London derby with Tottenham Hotspur, an update was provided on the left-back and his status.
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Alonso spoke about the two full-backs who missed the trip to the Toffees last week. He confirmed that Malo Gusto is fine to make his return after being absent, but that Chavarria isn't quite there yet. The Spanish defender is back in training and involved with the team, but he isn't ready yet to feature in a full match.
This remains one of the only injury absences for the Blues against Tottenham Hotspur, and luckily shouldn't harm them too much as they have depth on the left side of the back line, in particular, Jorrel Hato played well against Everton and could continue here.
The injury to Chavarria is likely to cause a slight adjustment from the manager as he is a more natural left-sided wing-back than Hato but the Dutchman is a slightly better wide CB option and a more technical player. There's also an opportunity for Marco Palestra to come in and provide a totally different profile should it be needed later in the match.
On a positive note, the Spaniard is back in training and could be fit to feature against Liverpool in midweek to help with rotation as the Blues face three high-profile matches in the span of the week with Manchester United ending the run of big fixtures.
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