The Brazilian striker was a shock absentee from the team-sheet to face Tottenham at the weekend after he suffered an injury in training the day before. He was sorely missed as the Blues fell to a 2-0 defeat.
Explaining the situation ahead of that derby clash, Alonso said: "At the moment has some liquid, so we have to do some tests to know how big the injury is. It's disappointing, but we need to carry on."
But he has now delivered a further update on the player’s condition ahead of a Carabao Cup last-16 meeting with Liverpool at Anfield, saying he will be sidelined for some time.
“He has an injury of his thigh and he is going to be out for a few weeks,” said Alonso. “Let’s see how many. We don’t want to predict on that, but he is not ready for the next games.”
He also confirmed, though, that Emmanuel Emegha, Danny Welbeck and Estevao will all be in the matchday squad at Anfield.
Chelsea have struggled in Joao Pedro’s absence this season, with the striker absent for both defeats by Brentford and Tottenham. Morgan Rogers took up centre-forward duties in his absence against Spurs and was peripheral throughout.
Alonso, though, was adamant his squad is sufficient to cope without Joao Pedro: "Yeah, for sure. This is why you build a squad. For sure, some players are important but this can happen."