Xabi Alonso has confirmed that Chelsea forward Joao Pedro will be sidelined for “a few weeks” due to a thigh injury.

The striker, who has scored five goals and made three assists in the Premier League this season, played no part in Chelsea’s bitter defeat against Tottenham on the weekend after missing out on the matchday squad due to injury.

Alonso said the Brazilian felt something in training and had “a lot of fluid” in his thigh, with the club conducting further assessments to determine the extent of the blow.

Chelsea felt Joao Pedro’s absence up top in a toothless performance at home to Spurs and Alonso has now provided a further update on his status ahead of the club’s Carabao Cup fourth-round tie at Liverpool, revealing that Chelsea will have to adapt.

"He has an injury on his thigh,” Joao Pedro confirmed. “He will be a few weeks out. Let's see how many. We don't want to predict on that.

"He's a key player. We will miss him. But we have to be ready to deal with the injury and be competitive and win games with the players we have available. This is the situation."

Joao Pedro suffered a knee injury which ruled him out of Chelsea’s match with Brentford ahead of the September international break, and he withdrew from Brazil duty.

He returned to the Chelsea team to score twice against Bournemouth and then played 90 minutes against Everton at the beginning of October, but was absent for the Spurs loss.

Morgan Rogers led the line on the weekend but had little impact, meaning Alonso could opt to start 35-year-old summer recruit Danny Welbeck, who has started both previous Carabao Cup ties this season.

Estevao, meanwhile, could be in store for more minutes as Chelsea look to cope without Cole Palmer following his red card.

“They are in the squad so every player in the squad can play,” Alonso added.