Joao Pedro and Reece James have both been left out of the Chelsea squad for tonight’s match away at Brentford.

The Brazilian FA announced on Wednesday that Joao Pedro had withdrawn from Carlo Ancelotti’s squad for the upcoming international window due to injury.

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Xabi Alonso was then expected to confirm in his pre-match press conference on Thursday afternoon if Joao Pedro would be part of Chelsea’s squad against Brentford.

With the Blues training at Cobham on this morning, though, Alonso said that Joao Pedro would continue to be assessed, alongside Moises Caicedo and Reece James.

“We will see tomorrow if he's ready to play and we will make a decision,” Alonso said when asked for an update on Joao Pedro’s fitness on Thursday.

Caicedo has not played since he was forced off injured 13 minutes after coming on to make a short-lived first appearance of the season during Chelsea’s 4-3 win over Brighton last month.

Captain James, meanwhile, was not pictured in training on Tuesday, albeit the media only had access to the first 15 minutes of the session.

The pair both miss out at the Gtech Community Stadium.

Jordan Henderson, though, is in to make his competitive Chelsea debut against his former employers.

Martinez; Fofana, Lacroix, Colwill; Neto, Henderson, Barco, Chavarria; Palmer, Rogers; Welbeck

Penders, Acheampong, Gusto, Hato, Lavia, Nicoll-Jazuli, Gittens, Estevao, Quenda

Joao Pedro, Caicedo, James, Palestra, Emegha

Time and date: 8pm BST on Friday September 18, 2026

How to watch: Sky Sports