Chelsea receive triple injury boost ahead of Premier League banana skin

LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 04: Enzo Maresca, Manager of Chelsea, arrives at the stadium prior to the Premier League match between Chelsea and Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on October 04, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)
Enzo Maresca arrives at Stamford Bridge (Image credit: Getty Images)

Two of Sunderland's summer signings could miss out on the Black Cats' trip to Stamford Bridge in less than a fortnight, while one is certain to be absent for the match.

Chelsea welcome Sunderland to SW6 next weekend hoping to avoid a potential Premier League banana skin.

The newly-promoted north-east club have made a fine start to the new campaign, notching three wins and two draws from their opening seven matches - the same record as Chelsea.

Sunderland receive triple injury blow before Chelsea clash

Sunderland manager Regis Le Bris

Sunderland manager Regis Le Bris (Image credit: Getty Images)

Enzo Maresca's Blues, however, boast a stronger goal difference and as a result sit higher in the table but that could all change when Regis Le Bris' men visit the capital on Saturday, October 25.

Chelsea do have injury worries of their own with the likes of Levi Colwill, Liam Delap and Cole Palmer all ruled out for upcoming fixtures, including Sunderland's visit, although they do have a much deeper squad than the majority of their Premier League rivals.

FourFourTwo issue 384

Cole Palmer features in FourFourTwo's latest issue: 384 but won't be appearing at Stamford Bridge until after the next international break (Image credit: Future)

The Black Cats spent heavily during the summer window, unburdened by legacy PSR issues and a modest wage bill, which allowed them to recruit a number of top players from across Europe.

Omar Alderete and Noah Sadiki were recruited from Getafe and Union Saint-Gilloise, respectively, while £30 million man Habib Diarra joined from Strasbourg.

The latter is out until later this year after undergoing surgery, while Sadiki missed DR Congo's World Cup qualifier on Tuesday with an ankle sprain.

Alderete, meanwhile, was brought off during the latter stages of Paraguay's friendly defeat by South Korea and will require further assessment on what was described locally as 'muscle discomfort'.

Paraguay's defender #03 Omar Alderete celebrates after scoring during the 2026 FIFA World Cup South American qualifiers football match between Paraguay and Argentina at the Ueno Defensores del Chaco stadium in Asuncion on November 14, 2024.

Omar Alderete whilst on international duty with Paraguay (Image credit: DANIEL DUARTE/AFP via Getty Images)

All three have played an important part for Sunderland during the early part of the 2025/26 campaign.

Prolonged absences for each, as is the case with Diarra, would represent a significant blow to the Black Cats' bid to maintain their place in the top flight for another season.

Joe Donnohue
Senior Digital Writer

Joe joined FourFourTwo as senior digital writer in July 2025 after five years covering Leeds United in the Championship and Premier League. Joe's 'Mastermind' specialist subject is 2000s-era Newcastle United having had a season ticket at St. James' Park for 10 years before relocating to Leeds and later London. Joe takes a keen interest in youth football, covering PL2, U21 Euros, as well as U20 and U17 World Cups in the past, in addition to hosting the industry-leading football recruitment-focused SCOUTED podcast. He is also one of the lucky few to have 'hit top bins' as a contestant on Soccer AM. It wasn't a shin-roller.

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