Xabi Alonso given timeline on return of $62 million signing ahead of trip to Arsenal

Marco Palestra has confirmed he is on the road to recovery but remains "a few days" away from making his return from injury.

The Chelsea defender, who arrived from Atalanta for £47 million ($62 million) in July, caught the eye during preseason but has been sidelined for the opening three games of his debut campaign. Xabi Alonso has yet to disclose the exact nature of Palestra's injury, though the 21-year-old is edging closer to rejoining training.

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Speaking to Sky Italia, Palestra said this on his injury, via football.london: "I'm fine, it's still a few days away, but I feel much better."

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As a result, Palestra has all but ruled himself out of Sunday's trip to the Emirates Stadium to face Premier League champions Arsenal. With the defender absent from training photographs released by the club on Wednesday, it appears he is still "a few days away" from returning to the practice fields at Cobham.

Meanwhile, an update on midfielder Moises Caicedo is anticipated at Alonso's pre-Arsenal press conference, scheduled for 1:30pm BST (8:30am ET) on Friday. The Ecuador international limped off during their recent win over Brighton and Hove Albion at Stamford Bridge, with his fitness set to be addressed at that session.

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The 24-year-old had previously missed Chelsea's victories over Fulham and Luton Town through injury, with the specific problem remaining undisclosed. However, Alonso is optimistic that this latest setback is not an entirely new concern.

Speaking just moments after the Ecuadorian was substituted due to injury, Alonso said: "Hopefully it was not new and it wasn't more than last time. So he was cautious to stop, to say that this feeling was not the best, but we need to assess during the week. But it wasn't something new."

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Meanwhile, Arsenal supporters have been left worried after both Cristhian Mosquera and Bruno Guimaraes were absent from Thursday's training session at London Colney. Declan Rice, however, was spotted on the training pitch, with Jurrien Timber carrying out rehabilitation work separately.

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