Chelsea have suffered an injury setback ahead of their Carabao Cup clash against Liverpool on Wednesday, with forward João Pedro expected to be sidelined for a few weeks with a thigh injury.

Chelsea head coach Xabi Alonso confirmed the Brazilian’s injury while speaking ahead of the trip to Liverpool, adding that the forward would miss the club’s upcoming matches.

João Pedro was unavailable for Chelsea’s defeat to Tottenham after sustaining the injury, with the club yet to establish a definite timeframe for his return.

“Injury on his thigh – he’s going to be a few weeks out. How many? We don’t want to predict. He’s not ready for the next games,” Alonso said, according to Sky Sports.

Chelsea to cope with João Pedro’s absence

Alonso acknowledged João Pedro’s importance to the team but expressed confidence that Chelsea had enough depth to cope with his absence during a demanding period of fixtures.

“He’s a key player. We will miss him. We will be ready to deal with that and be ready to win games with the players we have available starting against Liverpool. We are ready to fight and show a good level,” he said.

The Chelsea boss said the club’s squad-building strategy was intended to ensure the team could remain competitive when important players were unavailable through injury.

He urged his players to concentrate on finding solutions rather than allowing setbacks to affect their performance.

“This is why you build a squad. Yes, players are important but you need to build a squad. You look for solutions rather than excuses,” Alonso added.

Palmer knows he made a mistake, says Alonso

Meanwhile, Alonso said midfielder Cole Palmer understood his mistake after being sent off against Tottenham, ruling him out of Wednesday’s encounter with Liverpool through suspension.

The Chelsea manager said he had spoken to the England international and believed he recognised that the incident could have been avoided.

“We spoke and for sure he knows the mistake he made. Things that you can avoid. I hope that this is not going to be repeated. He’s aware of that, he’s mature and it was a mistake,” Alonso said.

Despite Palmer’s suspension, Alonso expressed confidence in the midfielder’s relationship with his teammates, stressing that the club wanted him to remain happy and enjoy his football.

“He’s in a good space, he connects very well socially with his teammates. They like him, they want Cole smiling, they want Cole having fun, enjoying his game because when we see that, he’ll have a better team,” he added.

Chelsea will therefore head into the Liverpool clash without João Pedro, who is expected to spend several weeks recovering, and Palmer, who is unavailable because of suspension.