Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso has confirmed that goalkeeper Robert Sanchez sustained an injury during training ahead of the club's match against Tottenham Hotspur. The Spanish goalkeeper was absent from the squad as the Blues faced their London rivals at the Accor Stadium in Sydney for the Sydney Super Cup.
Addressing the media after his side's 2-1 defeat to Spurs, Alonso provided an update on the goalkeeper situation. He explained that while the injury is not serious, it was significant enough to keep Sanchez out of the lineup. "Mike is joining us in Hong Kong, and Robert has a minor injury, not a big thing, but not for today, and we'll have to wait until, let's see, for the next week. We need to go assessing almost day by day, but there was no point of taking risks today," Alonso stated.
Sanchez had previously appeared in the second half of Chelsea's first match in Australia against the Western Sydney Wanderers, coming on as a substitute for Teddy Sharman-Lowe Sharman-Lowe. With Sanchez sidelined, Sharman-Lowe played the full duration of the match against Tottenham. Looking ahead, 21-year-old Belgian goalkeeper Mike Penders is set to join the squad in Hong Kong for the remainder of the pre-season. Penders, who spent the previous season on loan at Strasbourg and was part of Belgium's FIFA World Cup squad as a third-choice keeper, is expected to provide competition for Sanchez, particularly as Filip Jorgensen nears a move to the French side.
The match itself saw Chelsea conclude their Australian tour with a 2-1 loss to 10-man Tottenham Hotspur. Spurs opened the scoring in the 17th minute through a deflected strike from Sandro Tonali. Chelsea responded quickly when Estevao headed in a cross from Jamie Gittens just four minutes later. Tottenham was later reduced to ten men after Kevin Danso, who had been introduced at half-time, received a red card for a last-man foul on Joao Pedro. Despite the numerical advantage, Chelsea conceded a late stoppage-time winner when Richarlison tapped in from close range following a shot from Jamie Donley that struck the woodwork.
