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Is Joao Pedro injured? Chelsea release new training footage after Xabi Alonso update
Sep 18 2026 10:49 · By onefootball.com · 6 Reads
Chelsea’s in-form striker is a major doubt for Friday night’s west London derby
Joao Pedro appears to have missed the penultimate Chelsea training session ahead of the Premier League showdown with Brentford.
Joao Pedro, along with Blues captain Reece James and key midfielder Moises Caicedo, has emerged as a major doubt for the west London derby on Friday night after being replaced in the Brazil squad earlier in the week.
While the Brazilian FA have announced that the striker will not be an option for Carlo Ancelotti for the upcoming international window due to injury, Xabi Alonso has refused to rule the 24-year-old out against Brentford.
Upon revealing the latest Chelsea team news in the pre-match press conference, Alonso also issued an update on James and Caicedo.
“In terms of injuries and in terms of the squad we are having the last training session tomorrow so no-one is ruled out for us for Friday,” the Blues manager said.
“So I prefer to be cautious and we will wait until tomorrow to take the final decision on every player. We will see tomorrow if Joao is ready to play, it’s a possibility.
“For Reece, it was just a decision for Tuesday and we see his development and tomorrow we will decide.”
"He’s [Caicedo] getting closer and tomorrow we will take the final decision on the team and on the squad that is coming to Brentford.
“Tomorrow is the final decision. Sorry to repeat myself, but before the players know we need to assess all the positions with the last training and tomorrow we will make the decision for the game in Brentford.”
Since Alonso's update on Thursday afternoon, Chelsea have released footage from training, though Joao Pedro, James and Caicedo were absent from the session at the club’s Cobham base.
The Chelsea team to face Brentford will be announced at 6.45pm BST, ahead of kick-off at 8pm at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Victory for the Blues would lift them up to third in the Premier League table, albeit potentially for less than 24 hours with Hull and Brighton in action against Newcastle and Arsenal respectively on Saturday.
Chelsea have not beaten Brentford away from home since October 2021 when Ben Chilwell scored the only goal of the game.