Update on potential new injury for Chelsea as impressive signing drops out

Chelsea full back Pep Chavarria has dropped out of the team, and there’s a strong indication it’s due to injury.

After a heavy win over Bournemouth, it was natural that Xabi Alonso would want to keep his team very similar for this game a week later.

With no midweek game, his team have been able to rest, recover and train while so many of their rivals have been playing European football.

In the end, the team for Everton is the same as the one that featured last weekend, with one change. Pep Chavarria drops out at left back, with Jorrel Hato coming in to replace him.

Chelsea full back misses out on squad

Chavarria had his best game in a Chelsea shirt yet against the Cherries, so there’s no way he’s been dropped. The fact he’s not in the squad at all shows it’s a medical issue. Daily Mail journalist Kieran Gill reports that it’s a “late dropout”, indicating that Chavarria was expected to play until sometime today.

The Spaniard is at the stadium, so it’s not illness. It must be a minor knock or tweak. We will find out more from the media when they get to speak to Xabi Alonso after the game.

In other news…

The team news for this game shows how much confidence Xabi Alonso has in his team after a big win – there was just one, enforced, change.

Xabi Alonso spoke in the buildup to this game about how Chelsea could shake off their bad memories of their last away game.

Alonso also denied Chelsea were planning on signing a midfielder in January, despite the injury to Reece James.