Xabi Alonso has confirmed that four players remain on Chelsea's injury list and will miss Saturday's Premier League clash against Hull City.
The Blues bounced back with a win against Leeds United in the Carabao Cup third round on Wednesday after a disappointing derby defeat to Arsenal last weekend.
As expected, Alonso heavily rotated his starting line-up in midweek. In the end, Chelsea had to rely on several key players, including Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers, to secure a comeback win and progress to the fourth round.
It would be ideal for Chelsea to reinforce the squad amid a busy schedule before September's international break with a few players from the injury list. Unfortunately for the Blues, that won't be the case.
Chelsea will have to continue to cope in midfield without their star midfielder, Moises Caicedo.
"Not yet," Alonso said in Friday's press conference when asked whether Caicedo would be available against Hull.
"Let's see for Brentford, but unluckily not at the moment to take risks with him. Not yet, we are not there yet."
The Ecuador international suffered an injury before the start of the season. He made his first appearance of the campaign in Chelsea's 4-3 home win over Brighton & Hove Albion in late August. He came on as a substitute in the second half but was later forced off due to a setback.
Alonso also responded "no" to the possibility of Marco Palestra, Jordan Henderson, and Emmanuel Emegha making the squad on Saturday.
"Not tomorrow," the Chelsea boss added when asked about Henderson and Emegha, in particular.
"We hope they can be (available) for Brentford, and we will see."
Similar to Caicedo, Palestra sustained his injury just before the season began. Neither of these three summer signings has made their official debut for Chelsea.
The Blues only have two fixtures left before the September international break, including Saturday's match against Hull.
This international break will be longer than usual: nations will play four games over three weeks, with two breaks merged into one.
Rather than rushing another return, it would make sense for Chelsea to sideline the quartet and set their return date for after the international break. As alluded to, there will be no more break in October after the change.
If any of these four make an early return, Palestra and Henderson could be the most likely candidates.
The former has recently begun individual training, indicating he is close to recovery and nearing a return to action.
Henderson has also been training with the team but still lacks approval to play after a left forearm fracture during the 2026 World Cup.