Xabi Alonso will wait until Saturday before deciding whether Moises Caicedo can face Arsenal at the Emirates.

The Chelsea manager said the Ecuador midfielder will be checked after the last training session and that the squad call for Sunday will be made then. Caicedo missed the opening league game against Fulham, came off the bench against Brighton and lasted only 11 minutes before he was forced off again.

Alonso told reporters not to worry about “the things that happen” and to wait for the final test.

The derby is already short of midfield certainty. Enzo Fernandez completed a deadline-day move to Manchester City. A late attempt to sign Monaco’s Lamine Camara fell through. Alonso said the club took those decisions together, thanked Fernandez for what he gave Chelsea, and insisted the squad now in the building has quality and depth.

Jordan Henderson is “getting closer” to minutes. Alonso also pointed to younger and academy options as he prepares to meet Mikel Arteta.

Sunday at 16:30 is a London derby with the window shut and one of Chelsea’s most important midfielders still in the treatment room. The late call on Caicedo will say as much about the next 90 minutes as any team sheet line.

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