By OkayGoal
Xabi Alonso has confirmed Chelsea will be without Joao Pedro for several weeks due to a thigh issue, but has backed summer signing Emmanuel Emegha to help fill the void.
Emegha is yet to debut for Chelsea since signing from Strasbourg in the summer, due to injury. The Dutchman has returned to training and could make his first appearance against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup this evening.
Emegha scored 31 goals in 78 games across three seasons at Strasbourg and Alonso is excited to have the 6ft 5in forward among his options, alongside fellow recruit Danny Welbeck.
The Spaniard said Emegha has ‘special qualities’ and has backed the forward to make an impression.
“For sure it’s important that we have him available because he has special qualities,’ said Alonso in his pre-match press conference.
“He needs to feel fully fit. He has been training for the last two weeks, ten days, in a good way that has allowed him to build a strong base of fitness.
“Now, gradually, we want to see him and maybe tomorrow he has the chance to play.”
Morgan Rogers operated at centre-forward during the defeat to Tottenham at the weekend and Alonso is adamant that Chelsea have multiple options to combat the loss of Pedro.
“There are the strikers, but there are other players that can play in that position,” he said.
“We need to find the right balance between the things they are good at and how they connect with the other players. We tried with Morgan playing close to Cole [Palmer], and sometimes we need to be creative and try a few things to see if they are going to work well.
“I assess all the possibilities we have and what we have been preparing during the week, and with the qualities all players have, to choose the best team for each game. That was the case for Saturday and that is the case for tomorrow.’
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