Chelsea Injury Update Ahead of Hull City Clash

Chelsea head into Saturday’s Premier League meeting with Hull City still stretched by injuries, with Xabi Alonso confirming that four players remain unavailable.

The news comes just days after Chelsea clawed their way past Leeds United in the Carabao Cup, a comeback win that helped wash away some of the sting from last weekend’s derby defeat to Arsenal. Alonso rotated heavily for that tie, but when the game tightened, the big names had to step in. Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers were both called from the bench to drag the team over the line and into the fourth round.

Now the focus turns back to the league – and to who won’t be there.

Caicedo still sidelined

Chelsea will once again have to do without Moises Caicedo in midfield. The Ecuadorian remains out and will not feature against Hull.

“Not yet,” Alonso said on Friday when asked if Caicedo could return this weekend. “Let’s see for Brentford, but unluckily not at the moment to take risks with him. Not yet, we are not there yet.”

Caicedo picked up his injury before the season even began. He finally made his first appearance of the campaign in the wild 4–3 win over Brighton & Hove Albion at Stamford Bridge in late August, coming on in the second half. His comeback didn’t last long. A setback forced him off again and sent him straight back to the treatment room.

Chelsea have been forced to improvise without their marquee midfielder, and that reshuffle will continue at least one more match.

Trio of summer signings must wait

The wait goes on for three of Chelsea’s summer arrivals as well. Alonso confirmed that Marco Palestra, Jordan Henderson and Emmanuel Emegha will all miss the Hull game and are still chasing their first competitive minutes for the club.

Asked directly whether any of the trio could make the squad, Alonso’s answer was blunt: “No.”

Pressed on Henderson and Emegha in particular, he added: “Not tomorrow. We hope they can be (available) for Brentford, and we will see.”

Palestra, like Caicedo, suffered his injury just before the season kicked off. None of the three has yet pulled on a Chelsea shirt in an official match, an odd quirk for a club that rebuilt so aggressively over the summer.

There is at least a hint of progress. Palestra has recently started individual training, a clear sign he is edging closer to full fitness and a return to action. Henderson is already back working with the squad but still has not been cleared to play following the left forearm fracture he sustained during the 2026 World Cup. Emegha, too, remains in the queue.

Timing the return

Chelsea have only two fixtures left before the September international break, starting with Hull and then Brentford. It’s not a standard window either. This break will stretch over three weeks, with nations playing four matches and two international periods effectively rolled into one. There will be no separate break in October.

That calendar twist changes the calculation. Rather than gamble on early comebacks, Chelsea can park their injured quartet, let the international schedule run its course and aim for a cleaner bill of health on the other side.

If anyone does beat that timeline, the signs point to Palestra and Henderson as the likeliest to sneak back first. For now, though, Alonso goes into another Premier League weekend knowing his squad is still short – and that Chelsea must navigate Hull without four players they expected to lean on this season.