Henderson could play but several Chelsea players are doubts for Bees game
Xabi Alonso says it is a “possibility” that Jordan Henderson could make his Chelsea debut against the veteran midfielder’s former club Brentford on Friday.
Henderson has been sidelined since breaking his wrist attempting to vault an advertising board following England’s World Cup win over Mexico, so he has not featured since leaving the Bees for Chelsea during the summer.
Blues boss Alonso gave little away on his other fitness doubts ahead of the trip to Brentford, saying final calls on Marco Palestra, Reece James, Moises Caicedo and Joao Pedro would all wait until after Friday’s training session.
On Palestra and Henderson, Alonso said: “Tomorrow, final decision. Sorry I am repeating, but your questions are the same.
“The players know everything we need to assess, all the decisions with the last training, and tomorrow we will take the decisions for the game at Brentford.”
James, whose fitness continues to be managed, was not involved in training on Tuesday.
Alonso explained: “It was just a decision for Tuesday. We will see his development and tomorrow we will decide.”
On Caicedo, he added: “He is getting closer and tomorrow we will take the final decision in the team and in the squad that is coming to Brentford.
“Moises is one of the top midfielders in the world. And for sure anything with him in the middle is a better team and we are aware of that. But at this moment we will see tomorrow.
“He has not been able to play, so we have had to cope with that situation, and when he will play, we will benefit from his qualities. He is inspirational for the players.”
Alonso was more guarded on Joao Pedro, declining to confirm whether the forward is carrying an injury.
He said: “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, so I prefer to be cautious and we will be waiting until tomorrow to make the final decision on every player.”
Asked whether Joao Pedro could feature against Brentford despite being unavailable for Brazil during the international break, Alonso said: “It is a possibility.”