João Pedro, Martínez & Chavarría: Latest Chelsea injury news ahead of Liverpool clash

Chelsea are in midweek EFL Cup action against Liverpool this Wednesday – but their hopes of putting a disappointing home defeat to local rivals Tottenham Hotspur behind them could be hampered by some fresh injury concerns.

First-choice striker João Pedro was unexpectedly left out of the line-up for Saturday’s game after suffering a training injury, and he could be one of as many as seven players who miss out on the match at Anfield.

With kick-off fast approaching, we’ve collected all of the latest Chelsea injury news below, along with the stricken players’ expected return dates when available.

Will João Pedro play against Liverpool?

Chelsea’s leading scorer João Pedro was a surprise absentee from the squad that lost 2-0 to Spurs on Saturday, with head coach Xabi Alonso explaining that the Brazilian had suffered an injury during training on Friday.

“At the moment, he has some fluid [swelling around the injury] so we have to do some tests to see how big is the injury is,” Alonso told the media. “For sure, it’s a disappointment, but we need to carry on.”

Further reporting suggests that the 25-year-old’s injury is to his knee, and while the extent of the injury and the timeframe for his return has not yet been established it’s highly unlikely that he will be able to face Liverpool on Wednesday.

It’s also not yet clear whether the issue is affecting the same knee which was giving him problems in September and which forced him to pull out of the Brazil squad for the recent international break. Chelsea will undertake full scans once the swelling has subsided.

João Pedro’s probable absence means that Chelsea will head to Anfield missing two key members of their much-vaunted attacking quartet – Cole Palmer will serve his one-match suspension for the red card he picked up against Spurs during the Liverpool match, meaning that he will be available selection for their next Premier League game against Manchester United on Saturday.

Chavarría & Martínez among Chelsea injury issues

Among Chelsea’s other injured players, two appear to stand at least some chance of playing a role against Liverpool in midweek – full-back Pep Chavarría and striker Emmanuel Emegha.

Summer signing Chavarría missed the last two games with an undisclosed training injury, but returned to light training last week and could make the bench for Wednesday if all goes well.

Emegha, meanwhile, recently suffered a setback in training as he worked his way back from an unspecified muscular issue. He could make his much-delayed Chelsea debut in the coming week, according to The Evening Standard, but the club have yet to provide a full update on the Dutchman’s condition.

The Liverpool game is expected to come too soon for winger Jamie Gittens, who picked up an ankle injury while on international duty with England’s Under-21s last month – he is believed to be targeting a comeback in early November.

First-choice goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez is out for at least two to three more weeks after breaking his jaw during the recent 2-0 win over Everton, and seems likely to have to wait until after the November international break before returning to action. Club captain Reece James, meanwhile, is out until January after undergoing surgery on a knee injury.