Xabi Alonso has ruled four Chelsea players out of Saturday’s Premier League clash with Manchester United, but Pep Chavarria is back in contention.

The Chelsea manager said he does not expect Lacroix, who sustained a thigh injury against Liverpool, to be back before the international break, as he will need "a few weeks" to recover.

Alonso added that “there is a chance” that Emiliano Martinez could return against Sunderland next week, but this weekend’s home game against Manchester United is too early for the goalkeeper.

Earlier reports suggested that Martinez has been seeing a specialist and considering wearing a facemask to speed up his return from a broken jaw.

Alonso confirmed this in Friday's press conference, saying: “In case he’s ready to play, he will probably need a facemask.”

This also pretty much confirms Mike Penders’ starting spot in goal against Manchester United. The young goalkeeper performed quite well against Liverpool after an underwhelming first Premier League start against Tottenham Hotspur.

The Blues boss also ruled two defenders, Jorrel Hato and Aaron Anselmino, out of the Manchester United game.

Hato’s injury absence is luckily mitigated by fellow left-back Chavarria’s expected return. Chavarria missed the last three games for Chelsea due to an injury he picked up in training.

Malo Gusto filled in as left full-back in the first 68 minutes against Liverpool, before he suffered from cramps and had to be replaced by Marco Palestra. Both of them naturally play on the right.

Meanwhile, Anselmino, who has yet to be involved this season, likely remains out of the picture for a while.

“He’s not available yet,” Alonso said about Anselmino’s injury situation.

“He’s had a few injuries. It will take  a few weeks until he is fully fit.”

Lacroix, Hato, and Anselmino’s injuries leave Chelsea with limited centre-back options. As it stands, Levi Colwill, Josh Acheampong, and Wesley Fofana are the only available senior options for this position. This could leave some room for academy star Tayo Subuloye, who is still waiting to make his competitive senior debut.

The limited centre-back options could sway Alonso away from deploying a back three this weekend. It is worth mentioning that Chelsea have played a back four in the last two games, with Acheampong operating as a right full-back.

On a more positive note, Moises Caicedo, who was substituted off with a small injury against Liverpool, has been confirmed to be available.

Aside from these four, Chelsea are also expected to be without Reece James, who underwent knee surgery earlier this month, Joao Pedro (thigh), and Jamie Gittens (ankle) against Manchester United.