Chelsea were once again without Joao Pedro at the weekend, and his absence was undoubtedly felt.

The Blues lost 1-0 to Sunderland and had no focal point up front. Pedro Neto was used as a false 9, but it became very evident early in the game that the Portuguese was a winger being shoehorned into the role.

Chelsea warn staff over leaking team news through Fantasy Premier League

Before Chelsea’s loss to Tottenham last month, more than one Fantasy Premier League content creator claimed to have seen proof of Morgan Rogers and several members of Chelsea staff removing Pedro from their fantasy teams before the FPL deadline.

According to BBC Sport, Chelsea have since sent an email to their staff warning them about accidentally leaking team news through FPL. Pedro’s injury has been a blow for both Chelsea and FPL players.

Before his injury, Pedro was the second-highest scoring forward behind Manchester City’s Erling Haaland with 47 points. The Brazil international has scored five goals and provided three assists in six outings this season, contributing to that total.

The sooner he is back, the better for FPL players, but more importantly, for Xabi Alonso. Despite signing Danny Welbeck in the summer, the Spaniard has just not found a way to replace the injured Pedro.

Alonso has also tried Rogers up front, but that has not worked either. If Alonso does not trust Welbeck or Emmanuel Emegha, which appears to be the case, Chelsea may need to sign a new striker in January.

Ironically, on the same weekend Chelsea struggled up front, former strikers Liam Delap and Nicolas Jackson both managed to score. How Alonso could have done with either at the Stadium of Light.