Joao Pedro is struggling with a knee injury, but has been receiving treatment during the international break.
Chelsea striker Joao Pedro has been seeing a knee specialist in London to speed up his recovery amid the international break.
The Blues fired blanks for the first time this season in their 3-0 defeat to Brentford during the weekend before the international break. It was no surprise that it came when they had to cope without Joao Pedro leading the line.
The Brazil international, who is joint-leading the direct goal contribution charts in the Premier League with three goals and three assists, is undoubtedly a crucial focal point of Chelsea’s attack.
Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso refused to give out details on the striker’s injury, but an earlier report in Brazil described it as knee swelling that could take up to four weeks to heal. It is understood he started feeling discomfort after the 2-2 draw with Hull City earlier this month.
However, this would mean Joao Pedro, who had to withdraw from international duty with Brazil, might not be back in time for Chelsea’s return to action against Bournemouth on October 10.
The good news is Joao Pedro has not just sat idly, hoping the injury would heal.
According to The Standard, he has been receiving treatment from a specialist in London, while being monitored closely by the club’s medical staff.
This does not guarantee that Joao Pedro would recover sooner, of course, but the expectation is that the injury is not long-term.
Chelsea's growing injury list
The Chelsea players who are not on international duty resumed training on Monday after being given a week off, but Joao Pedro was surprisingly absent alongside a few others on the injury list, such as Reece James and Cole Palmer.
Like Joao Pedro, James also missed the disappointing defeat to Brentford due to a hamstring injury. On the other hand, Palmer made the starting line-up in that game, but had to pull out of the England squad due to a muscle issue.
Palmer was reported to be spending his time off in the Caribbean while continuing his injury treatment on holiday.
The other players on Chelsea’s injury list are Moises Caicedo, Marco Palestra and Emmanuel Emegha.
Palestra was among the small group that trained under Alonso on Monday, but Caicedo and Emegha remained absent, having struggled with a calf and a hamstring injury, respectively.
Jamie Gittens and Mike Penders have also joined the injury list after sustaining injuries on international duty.
Penders remained with the Belgium national team, but missed their last two Nations League games against Italy and France due to a quadriceps injury he sustained in training.
