According to Football.London, Enzo Alonso's start as Chelsea FC manager has been mixed, with his team hampered by the absence of key players during the first seven matches of the season.

Enzo Alonso's excitement was evident when Moises Caicedo joined Chelsea FC during the pre-season tour.

"When I saw him yesterday, I felt like I'd been missing my midfielder all along because I really admire him off the pitch as well, and you can see his quality, his fighting spirit, and his attitude," said the Chelsea manager, who had not yet worked with Moises Caicedo at that time.

"I know Ecuadorian footballers; they're different from others. I've heard a lot about him and spoken to him on the phone, but that was just first contact. He's a top-level player and for me, he's undoubtedly one of the best defensive midfielders in the world."

Alonso added, "Now he's here and it's time to start working to help him develop and improve even further."

At that time, Alonso was eager to work with Moises Caicedo to prepare for the new season with new tactics. Over two months later, Alonso had to cope with an incomplete squad for nearly the entire first seven matches of the season as Chelsea FC manager.

Any team would be affected without an important midfielder like Moises Caicedo. Chelsea FC has suffered from this problem throughout the season. Sometimes the team has been helped by an attack packed with star players, but other times, particularly in the final three Premier League matches, Alonso's team has been punished.

Moises Caicedo joined Chelsea FC in August 2023 with a then-English transfer record fee of 115 million pounds, but he faced continued hamstring injuries early in the season, playing only 14 minutes. Alonso admitted that bringing the 24-year-old midfielder back for the match against Brighton on August 30 was a "mistake," which aggravated the Ecuadorian international's old injury and led to his substitution after 14 minutes as a substitute.

After Chelsea FC lost to Arsenal 2-1 last month, Alonso explained, "It's not a long-term injury, but what matters is assessing the risk.

"Last week against Brighton, we brought him back too early. I don't want to make that mistake again.

"It's easy to talk about missing players after a defeat. I'm very happy with the players we have.

"We have to manage injuries, and Miguel Arteta has to manage injuries too, but we need them because they're all leading players."

Alonso is determined to learn from his mistake, which is why he's being more cautious in bringing Moises Caicedo back this time.

Chelsea FC hoped the Ecuadorian midfielder would feature in the final match against Brentford before the international break, but he did not travel to the Gtech Community Stadium.

After this weekend's international break, Chelsea FC will host Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge. Alonso hopes to get the former Brighton midfielder some playing time, but given that he hasn't played since the start of the season, the team may still need to be cautious.

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