Phil Haigh
Published January 14, 2026 11:55pm
Updated January 14, 2026 11:57pm
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There are fitness issues for Cole Palmer and Reece James (Picture: Getty Images)
Cole Palmer and Reece James were among Chelsea’s absentees as they were beaten by Arsenal in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.
Also missing out on the London derby were the likes of Malo Gusto, Liam Delap and Jamie Gittens, who were all believed to be in contention to play.
Moises Caicedo also did not feature, but that was expected as the midfielder was suspended.
With a number of their best players out, the Blues were downed 3-2 in west London, giving Arsenal the advantage ahead of the second leg, but keeping Liam Rosenior’s side in the tie.
Ben White, Viktor Gyokeres and Martin Zubimendi scored the goals for the Gunners while an Alejandro Garnacho double lifted spirits at Stamford Bridge.
Rosenior hopes to have some of the absent players back by the weekend, with Chelsea hosting Brentford at 3pm on Saturday in the Premier League.
‘Cole, the game came too early for him. Hopefully he’ll be able to train on Friday,’ Rosenior told a post-match press conference. ‘He had a minor strain on his thigh.
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Liam Delap was due to play against Arsenal before illness (Picture: Getty Images)
‘Reece had a big knock on his hip, it was too sore for him today. Jamie was ill last night, Delap was due to play today and felt ill four hours before the game. Malo Gusto was ill. Moises Caicedo was suspended.
‘I want to keep the ill players away from the group so it doesn’t spread. Both of them had dangerously high temperatures. Hopefully they can be rested and be fine for Saturday.’
Ahead of the meeting with Arsenal, the new Blues boss said: ‘We’ve gone through the wars over the last couple of games, but at the same time, I still think we have more than enough to be competitive and win this game today.’
It is a very busy time of year for the Blues and Rosenior spoke earlier in the week of specifically managing Palmer through his fitness issues.
Palmer’s season has been seriously hampered by injury (Picture: Getty Images)
‘I’ve had a really good in-depth conversation with Cole today,’ he said. ‘I’ve had a really good in-depth conversation with the medical team. We’re at a stage of the season where we’ve got another eight games in three weeks.
‘So it would be crazy for me to risk any player in this phase of the season.
‘I’ve got real faith in this group and they showed that. I made, I think, eight changes (at Charlton), and we had a good performance. I’ll make more changes for Wednesday, I’ll make more changes for Saturday.
‘But to risk a player’s health in January is a crazy thing to do if you have the ambition that you want to be strong at the end of the season.’
Liam Rosenior lost his first match in charge at Stamford Bridge (Picture: Getty Images)
‘I’m asking Rob to do things he hasn’t done before’
Rosenior may have a choice to make about who he will play in goal going forward after Robert Sanchez had a very difficult evening against the Premier League leaders.
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The former Brighton stopper flapped at a cross which led to Ben White’s opener, while he made a terrible mess of a low cross which presented the ball to Gyokeres to score the second.
Viktor Gyökeres doubles Arsenal's lead! 🎯 pic.twitter.com/wWLIKKp1bM
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) January 14, 2026
Defending his goalkeeper, Rosenior said: ‘I think the first goal was disappointing. That’s a team goal, that’s not on Rob. I’m asking Rob to do things he hasn’t done before.
‘When my players make mistakes, I’m accountable. He made a save in the second-half that was absolutely world-class. That would have put us out of the tie.’
Pushed on what he is asking Sanchez to do, he said: ‘Without going into too much detail, because I don’t want other teams to know, there are certain triggers, certain patterns.’
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