Chelsea latest: Martinez has surgery on fractured jaw

Chelsea say Emiliano Martinez has undergone successful surgery on a fractured jaw after a collision with Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite on Saturday. The Argentina international was stretchered off after a long delay, as Chelsea ran out 2-0 winners at Everton. Xabi Alonso confirmed after the game the the goalkeeper was in hospital undergoing precautionary tests.

Martinez wrote on Instagram that he will be back soon. He said: "Thanks to everyone for the messages, the operation went well. The most important thing is that we won. We'll be back in a few weeks." The 34-year-old was replaced by 21-year-old Mike Penders, who became Chelsea's youngest goalkeeper in the Premier League era.

Chelsea won their first Premier League away game while keeping a clean sheet since last November (2-0 against Burnley). Chelsea became the third team to score in the opening minute of the second half in consecutive Premier League games after Oldham Athletic (December 1992) and Tottenham Hotspur (May 1993).

This was Chelsea’s first clean sheet in 23 Premier League matches, since a 2-0 home win against Brentford in January. Aged 21 years and 78 days, Mike Penders became the youngest goalkeeper to play in the Premier League for Chelsea.

Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso to TNT Sports after 2-0 win at Everton:"Very happy with the result and the performance. We needed one of these away wins where we have played very professional and serious, looking solid." We looked in control of the game. There were moments for sure when we had to defend but overall the team looked mature, knowing what to do in each moment, knowing we would have a moment."

That came in the second half and after that we were good with the ball, creating chances, conceding not much. To win away is always tough and we finally got the clean sheet." We need to keep working. It is just one game. If it is just one clean sheet, it will be very poor. We need many more. For sure, the first one of the season feels good. We need to keep going, working and being serious."

Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso is awaiting news of Emiliano Martinez’s injury after the goalkeeper went to hospital following a clash of heads in the 2-0 victory at Everton. Martinez collided with Jarrad Branthwaite as the pair challenged for a cross and after more than eight minutes of treatment the Argentina international was carried off on a stretcher to a waiting ambulance.

“What we know is he left the stadium conscious and right now he is in the hospital doing precautionary tests,” said Alonso. “It was concussion but more than that I saw only one clip. Hopefully it won’t be too bad but we need to wait.” Branthwaite was attempting to get his head to a cross inside the Chelsea box when the incident took place.

The Everton defender was able to get to his feet shortly after and continue playing, while Martinez remained still on the ground before he was taken off. The 34-year-old was replaced by 21-year-old Mike Penders, who became Chelsea's youngest-ever goalkeeper in the Premier League era.

Chelsea left wing-back Pep Chavarria missed out on Saturday's squad to face Everton with a "little problem", according to manager Xabi Alonso. Jorrel Hato replaced the Spaniard in the line-up as the only change from last Saturday's 5-1 thrashing of Bournemouth. Asked to explain Chavarria's absence, Alonso told TNT Sports: "He picked up a little problem yesterday.

We are not certain yet of the situation because it was late yesterday. "Jorrel [Hato] is fit, he's played there, so just that change."

Across the last five Premier League seasons (since 2022-23), Reece James hasn't played in 81 Premier League games for Chelsea (including Saturday vs Everton), more games than he has featured in (78).

Xabi Alonso said it is too early to tell whether Chelsea are going the “right way” as he looks for greater balance from his free-scoring team. A chaotic start to life under the Spaniard sees the Blues sit as the third-highest scorers in the Premier League with 15 goals from their six games - yet no team in the division has conceded more than their 13. “You need a lot of clean sheets to win trophies,” said Alonso.

“But you need to score a lot of goals. So it’s about being strong in defence, being good in attack, and we are in that process. “We are still early days. This first part we’ve been doing good things, other things to be improved. To do a very deep analysis, it’s too early probably. “In February we will have enough game to see where we are going and if it’s the right way.

But we are demanding in terms of what we are doing and what we can do better.” Much of the issue in conceding goals has come from a lack of control in midfield, a problem that appeared largely to have been fixed on Saturday as Moises Caicedo made his first start of the season.

The return of the Ecuadorian after a calf injury brought far greater stability in the middle of the pitch, with Jordan Henderson, who scored his first two goals for the club against Bournemouth, also influential alongside him. “It’s one game, but we saw positives,” said Alonso. “Moises helps Hendo, Hendo helps Moises. I think as well Rom (Romeo) Lavia is in a good moment. He played 25 minutes and he did really well.

We need not just two midfielders, we need more than that. “In terms of personalities, they match well. Hendo he has this energy, he is very active, he covers a lot of pitch. He finds a balance with Moises who is more in position, he has this stability to be in good distances with everything. “It was a good start and we need to keep building from that.”

Sky Sports' Dave Reed looks into the effect of Reece James' injuries on his playing time and where the Chelsea captain ranks for games missed as a result.

Chelsea boss Xabi Alonso insists Reece James' injury "doesn't affect" the club's January transfer plans. Despite Alonso not confirming an exact timeline for the 26-year-old's return, Sky Sports News understands James is out for around three months after knee surgery.

The England international's injury leaves Chelsea's midfield options short, but Alonso is not concerned that the injury will force the club's hand in the winter window.

Asked at his pre-match press conference ahead of Saturday's trip to Everton whether James' injury affects their January transfer plans, Alonso said: “No, I don’t think so because we expect for that time that he’s back - some weeks before, some weeks [gestures other side] so let’s see, it’s not exact the timeline with him, so it doesn’t affect [transfer plans].”

James' injury also leaves the captain's armband up for grabs, which was taken by Levi Colwill in last Saturday's home win over Bournemouth. Questioned on the captaincy, Alonso replied: "We have Moi (Caicedo), Levi; we have players that take that responsibility, and they fill the role in a perfect way." They have the support from the rest when they see them with the armband."

He added: "You can be captain without an armband. Once you wear it, you have to be proud and take responsibility." You can have leadership without it, and that's why we have this group of captains to be the ones to pull from the rest - not just on matchday but during the week they need to deal with that."

Kaynak: Sky Sports · Özgün metin İngilizcedir.