Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has confirmed that five players, including Cole Palmer, could be out for Saturday's Premier League game with Brentford. Having several international players at their disposal is always a challenge for top clubs, such as the Blues, following an international break. Especially since some players are from outside Europe, which often means more travelling for these players when representing their countries
This is the case for Chelsea's South American talent. The three Brazilians, Joao Pedro, Andrey Santos, and Estevao and Ecuador's Moises Caicedo.
According to Maresca, the four players couldn't even take part in Thursday's training session in preparation for their visit to Brentford's Gtech Community Stadium. Naturally, their status for this weekend's game remains doubtful.
As reported by football.london, the manager said in his press conference on Friday:
"The three Brazilian players arrived yesterday but didn't train. Moi arrived last night - I didn't see him, I will see him today. For all of them it is a question mark for tomorrow. When they play in Bolivia, it's difficult. Hopefully they can be back soon."
Question mark over Palmer's availability for Chelsea vs Brentford
All three Brazilians featured in the two World Cup qualifiers against Chile and Bolivia. Caicedo played just 55 minutes before being sent off in Ecuador's win over Argentina.
In addition to these four players, Palmer, who missed Chelsea's last two games due to groin issues, remains doubtful for the trip despite positive signs. Maresca said:
"Cole took part in the session yesterday for the first time, not the entire session. We have one more session this afternoon and we are going to try with him to see if he's okay, otherwise he will be out tomorrow."
The possible absences of Palmer and Estevao, in particular, could prove troublesome for Chelsea. These two provide a lot of creative sparks in midfield for the team. Pedro is also crucial to the team, considering Liam Delap's long-term injury. The former Brighton striker leads the statistics with two goals and two assists from three appearances in the Premier League.
Chelsea are currently second in the Premier League table with seven points, below only Liverpool. While Maresca will be hoping to maintain the strong start to the season, he will also have to be mindful of risking his players ahead of the Champions League opener against Bayern Munich on Wednesday. Although if any team has the squad depth to cope with the rough schedule, it should be the Blues.