The Blues make the short trip across west London to take on Brentford in the Premier League’s Friday night kick-off, hoping to get back to winning ways after last week’s 2-2 draw with Hull City at Stamford Bridge.

There were concerns over Joao Pedro after the striker withdrew from the Brazil squad for the upcoming international break, and James as he missed the start of training on Tuesday. However, Alonso insists they have not been ruled out of our next match.

‘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,’ he explained.

‘So I prefer to be cautious and we will wait until tomorrow to take the final decision on every player. We will see tomorrow if Joao is ready to play, it’s a possibility.

‘For Reece, it was just a decision for Tuesday and we see his development and tomorrow we will decide.’

Our manager also hinted that there is a chance that Moises Caicedo could return to the matchday squad, with the midfielder having been restricted to just a brief appearance against Brighton & Hove Albion so far this season.

‘He’s getting closer and tomorrow we will take the final decision on the team and on the squad that is coming to Brentford.’

It was a similar response when Alonso was asked in his pre-match press conference if Marco Palestra or Jordan Henderson could be fit enough to make their Chelsea debuts at the Gtech Community Stadium, underlining that he will continue to monitor his options right up until it comes to the moment to name his team on Friday.

‘Tomorrow is the final decision,' he addeed. 'Sorry to repeat myself, but before the players know we need to assess all the positions with the last training and tomorrow we will make the decision for the game in Brentford.’