Chelsea Official: Henderson and Caicedo Both Miss League Cup Clash Against Leeds United

In the third round of the League Cup, Chelsea will host Leeds United at Stamford Bridge. Before the match, Xabi Alonso updated the team's injury situation, confirming that Henderson and Caicedo will both miss the game. The coach also praised the positive influence Henderson continues to bring to the team despite being sidelined with injury.

Henderson, who joined Chelsea this summer, suffered an arm injury while representing England at the World Cup and has still not made his official debut for the Blues. Although he is currently in recovery, the 36-year-old Henderson continues to travel with the squad and maintain close contact with the team.

Alonso commented: “Both aspects! He is very close to the team. Even with the injury, he travels with us. He needs to maintain this connection with the group and he provides a positive influence off the pitch. He is in good condition during training, but the recovery period for his arm injury has been longer than expected, and he will also feel frustrated. However, he has already reached the final stage of recovery.”

Midfielder Caicedo will also continue to be unavailable. More than a week ago, he suffered a recurrence of an old injury after making a rushed substitute appearance against Brighton. Alonso took responsibility and admitted that he had arranged Caicedo's return too early.

“He has already taken part in training. The issue is with his calf, which is the same old injury from before the Brighton match. At that time, I really wanted to bring Moi on, and perhaps I made a mistake by letting him return too early. So now we will be especially cautious to avoid the injury recurring.” Alonso said.

Both midfielders will continue their rehabilitation at Chelsea's Cobham training base. The club will patiently wait until they are fully fit before arranging their returns to competitive action.