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
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.
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’.
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.
