LONDON (AP) — Chelsea striker Joao Pedro was ruled out for several weeks on Tuesday because of a thigh problem, handing an opportunity for summer signing Emmanuel Emegha to show his worth on his return from injury.
Pedro's absence could be significant for Chelsea, which struggled for its usual attacking fluency in the two Premier League games the Brazil international has missed this season — a 2-0 home loss to Spurs on Saturday and a 3-0 loss at Brentford last month.
Pedro sustained his injury in training last week and is set for a second spell out this season, including Wednesday's match at Liverpool in the English League Cup.
He also is likely to be unavailable for selection for Brazil, which has friendly matches against Japan and Singapore next month. Pedro missed his country's international matches across late September and early October because of injury, too.
"He has an injury on his thigh and he's going be out for a few weeks," Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso said. "Let's see how many. We don't want to predict on that. But not ready for the next games.
"He's a key player. We will miss him, but we have to be ready to deal with the injury, and be competitive and try and win with the players we have available. This is the situation."
Alonso opted to play Morgan Rogers — a midfielder — as a makeshift striker against Tottenham but might switch to picking a specialist center forward against Liverpool and until Pedro returns.
One option is the 23-year-old Emegha, who completed a permanent move from Chelsea's sister club, Strasbourg, in the summer but hasn't made his debut yet because of a hamstring injury.
Emegha scored 31 goals in 78 appearances for Strasbourg and made his debut for the Netherlands last year.
"It's important we have him available because he has special qualities," Alonso said. "He's been training in a good way to allow him to build a strong base for his fitness. Maybe tomorrow he has the chance to play."
Alonso has Danny Welbeck available for the trip to Merseyside, but playmaker Cole Palmer is suspended after a sending-off against Tottenham.
"This is why you build a squad," Alonso said. "It's a situation that can happen and you need to be looking for solutions, not looking for excuses."
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