It is unclear whether Caicedo has an injury or his minutes are being managed after a lengthy calf injury. But the midfielder was missing from training on Wednesday, and now it appears another player is injured.

Geovany Quenda misses training but Sunderland is a possibility

Since his move from Sporting Lisbon, Quenda has only managed five appearances for Chelsea. He is a club signing, with a deal agreed before Xabi Alonso was made manager. He started in the loss to Spurs.

That remains his only start, with Alonso making the surprise decision to pick Quenda over the likes of Danny Welbeck and Estevao during the 2-0 loss. He has come on as a substitute in four other matches.

“Quenda missed training today and yesterday due to a minor muscle issue. He’s still working to return for Sunderland on Sunday,” Kinsella wrote on X. More will be learnt from Alonso’s Friday press conference.

Chelsea’s full injury list and when they are expected back

While Quenda and Caicedo were absent from training, reports say Emi Martinez, Jordan Henderson and Aaron Anselmino were all back in training on Wednesday. Henderson missed Man United due to illness.

Martinez has made a miraculous recovery and is pushing to start against Sunderland. He was spotted wearing a protective material around his jaw, having undergone surgery after an injury against Everton.

Aaron Anselmino is back after suffering a muscle injury against Johor Darul Ta’Zim in pre-season, with the Argentine likely to be in good mood after earning a call-up to Lionel Scaloni’s Argentina squad this week.

Reece James, Joao Pedro, Maxence Lacroix and Jamie Gittens were all absent from training. James and Lacroix are sidelined until 2027, while Pedro is expected back after the break. Gittens is still an unknown.