Xabi Alonso provides double Chelsea injury update

Xabi Alonso provides double Chelsea injury update Chelsea Injury Update After Juventus Defeat: Cole Palmer and Levi Colwill Latest Chelsea lost 1-0 to Juventus and, frankly, the result mattered less than the team sheet. Cole Palmer and Levi Colwill were missing, which immediately shifted the focus towards fitness, availability and whether Chelsea were staring at fresh problems three weeks before the Premier League season starts. Xabi Alonso moved quickly to shut that down. “Yes, they had a few, not injuries, discomforts,” the Spaniard told reporters. “Cole with a whack and Levi as well, so no point to take today’s risk and hopefully they will be fine for Saturday.” That is clear enough. No drama, no need to overcomplicate it. Cole Palmer Knock Not Groin Concern Palmer had trained separately from the main group in Hong Kong, which naturally raised questions. Given his issues last season, those concerns were obvious. Alonso’s message was direct. “No, it’s a whack, a contact injury that he had against Spurs. So it’s not that.” Photo IMAGO That matters. Chelsea do not need a repeat of the recurring groin trouble that disrupted Palmer before. A contact knock is manageable. A muscular issue is something else entirely. Alonso was right not to gamble in a pre-season game. Levi Colwill Fitness Managed Carefully Colwill’s situation is slightly different. He has only recently returned after an anterior cruciate ligament injury wiped out most of his 2025-26 campaign. In that context, caution is the only sensible approach. If there is even minor discomfort, you sit him down. End of story. Photo IMAGO Juventus Result Secondary For Chelsea Juventus won through a second half goal from Edon Zhegrova, handing Chelsea a second straight pre-season defeat after the 2-1 loss to Tottenham in Sydney. That looks poor on paper, but pre-season is about condition, rhythm and getting players through minutes. There were some positives. Danny Welbeck made his first Chelsea appearance since arriving from Brighton, while Mykhailo Mudryk returned off the bench for eight minutes. Chelsea face AC Milan on Saturday in Indonesia, and the expectation, based on Alonso’s update, is that Palmer and Colwill could be back in the frame.