Chelsea vs Brentford early injury news as 7 ruled out and 5 doubts for West London derby
A look at the early injury news surrounding Chelsea and Brentford as they prepare to face off in the Premier League.
Chelsea and Brentford are back in Premier League action on Saturday when they face off in a West London derby. The Blues have been in cup action of late, facing Arsenal in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg and Charlton Athletic in the FA Cup before that. This will be Liam Rosenior’s first Premier League clash
Brentford beat Sheffield Wednesday in the cup last week and comfortably saw off Sunderland in the Premier League before that. The Bees have been on a superb run, and they are now in fifth place, two points ahead of Chelsea and one point behind Liverpool in fourth. Here we round up the early injury news surrounding both teams ahead of this one.
Fabio Carvalho - Out
Carvalho is out until the start of next season with a serious knee injury.
Antoni Milambo - Out
Milambo suffered a knee injury that required the reconstruction of his ACL in the early winter, and he is going to be out for much of this year.
Josh DaSilva - Out
DaSilva is going to be out until late November. Andrews said in his last update, just before Christmas: “Josh is doing well. The road [to recovery] has been long and hard, and he's shown phenomenal character and resilience to get to this point. We're still hopeful that we'll see him out on the grass in a team environment sooner rather than later. He's working tirelessly with the medics and performance team to come back in the best possible place.”
Frank Onyeka - Out (International)
Onyeka is away for the African Cup of Nations.
Jordan Henderson - Doubt
Henderson has been struggling with a foot injury and will be assessed ahead of this one. Andrews said last weekend: “There was slight contact on the top of the foot or ankle. He might have rolled it as he landed. We felt at HT that it wasn't worth risking. Could he potentially have played on? Maybe. I'm not sure. But we made a decision not to risk it. We'll see how he is over the coming days.”
Dango Ouattara - Doubt
Andrews has said: “Dango won’t be involved in this one. I’ve given him an extra couple of days off because he’s been pretty full on in his endeavours with Burkina Faso. We’ll get him back in and involved ahead of the Chelsea game.”
Cole Palmer - Doubt
Rosenior said on Wednesday: “The game came too early for him. Hopefully, he'll be available to train on Friday. And hopefully, he'll be ready for us to play on Saturday. He had a little minor strain in his leg. If you play a player too early in January with a minor strain, it can turn into six weeks. I cannot afford to lose Cole Palmer for six weeks.”
Reece James - Doubt
Rosenior said on Wednesday: “Reece had a big knock on his hip. It was too sore for him today. Hopefully, he'll be back on Saturday.”
Malo Gusto - Doubt
Gusto remains a doubt after missing out on Wednesday despite being in contention.
Jamie Gittens - Fit
Gittens is expected to return from illness here.
Romeo Lavia - Out
Lavia is not expected back from his hamstring issue until early January. Enzo Maresca said earlier in December: “It's a muscle problem. We don't know yet when he can be back. We don't know [if it will be long or short-term].”
Levi Colwill - Out
Colwill is out for the season with a serious knee injury. It was confirmed back in August: “Levi has today undergone successful surgery [for] an ACL injury. Medical assessments confirmed surgery would be the required course of action. Levi will now begin his recovery and be supported by the medical department at Cobham during his rehab phase.”
Dario Essugo - Out
Essugo is not ready to return here. Maresca said at the time: “Dario, he was okay, started some sessions with us, but he needs to slow down a little bit and will be out, but we hope nothing important. We hope he will be fine.”
Mykhailo Mudryk - Out (Suspended)
Mudryk is suspended. A club statement in the summer read: “We can confirm that Mykhailo Mudryk has been charged with Anti-Doping Rule Violations alleging the presence and/or use of a prohibited substance, in terms of Regulations 3 and 4 of The FA's Anti-Doping Regulations. As this is an ongoing case, we are not in a position to comment further at this time.” Mudryk is not included in the final count due to the nature of his absence.