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Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso has confirmed that midfielder Moises Caicedo and wing-back Marco Palestra are sidelined for the Premier League opener against Fulham due to injuries.
The Blues start their league campaign against the Cottagers on the road tonight and ahead of the derby, Alonso confirmed that Caicedo and Palestra suffered setbacks in training and need to be assessed closely.
He said: "During the week they had a few setbacks. We don't want to take too much risk. They weren't ready to play tonight. We need to go week-by-week but for tonight they were not ready."
In Caicedo's absence, Reece James has come in to partner Romeo Lavia in the heart of the midfield, while Enzo Fernandez features on the bench.
Manchester City have just sold Omar Marmoush and Savinho to Tottenham Hotspur, while Nico Gonzalez looks set to join Newcastle United.
With the triple departure, Man City have recouped sufficient funds and they are poised to make a big-money proposal for Fernandez very soon.
While Alonso has highlighted that he is very happy with Fernandez, the Blues could still sanction his sale if they receive £120 million.
Written by Sri Aswin
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